Love Blooms
by Scraggles
Summary: Venture into the mind of Haruno Sakura as she goes through the pain and suffering of living in Ino's world. Can she step up and steal her heart, or will she fall from her field of view? Find out! - InoSaku, SakuHina, & implied SasuNaru! Mild adult themes!
1. My Growing Obsession

Love Blooms - An InoSaku Fic

Disclaimer - I own only the plot of this story, not the characters, or really anything. Any likenesses to other stories are either completely coincidental, or parodied. This story was originally posted on

Author's note:

This is an InoSaku fic, so if you don't like the idea of Ino and Sakura, yuri angst (young girl-love), or the Naruto series in general, I suggest that you don't read this. If you DO like InoSaku, then I suggest you read, rate, and review, because if you like it, chances are, I'll make more. And one more thing, before I get into introducing you to most of the story.

First off, I'm taking inspiration from a lot of stories that are already on here, and sort of doing a mash-up of them. You know, collaborating them with my own ideas, of course, putting them in my own words and crediting the authors that I know of and remember. Second, this is, of course, an InoSaku fic (most plausible yuri pairing, FYI) and is slightly AU (because there are no ninjas in this fic, since I suck at fight scenes) and is still centered around Konoha. Later in the story, Ino and Sakura will be going to Konoha High School, since I couldn't think of a better name. Anyway, I'm going to stop boring you and get on with the story now . . . and btw, it is first person, with Sakura's point of view for now. I may switch it around though later.

Also, the story line will be similar to the manga and anime until you get past the part about fifth grade and such. I just wanted to change that up, so all you InoSaku fans out there could get to see a little more yuri angst stuff, and put some popular pairings in the same groups with eachother.

**EDIT: My apologies for not really giving much credit to anyone as of late, but I can't seem to find where I got the idea to even *start* this in the first place. I can't seem to find the story on FF, or anywhere really, however, I have painstakingly put my memory of it into my OWN words, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't rag me about it. I've been searching though, believe me. If you have read something very similar to this chapter before, just give me a link, author's name, or something. That would be appreciated.**

* * *

'My parents are fighting again,' I thought, 'Just great.' I sighed, kicking my feet on my bed aimlessly. They were saying the bad words. The kind that Mommys and Daddys tell you that you don't need to hear. It was unnerving. I woke up almost every night to the same thing. 'Why can't they just love each other like normal people?'

"She's your fucking daughter," I heard Daddy yelling, "It's your fault that she's so FUCKING stupid!"

I felt tears well up in my eyes. Daddy was talking about my grades. I knew I wasn't doing good in kindergarten. I tried to hide it. We had just moved to Konoha from Tokyo.

"You're the one who's supposed to help me raise her right," Mom yelled back.

"Don't you raise your voice at me!" He screamed.

I knew he was going to hit her. He always hit her. Then he would apologize like the worm he truly was, crawling on his belly, wriggling in the mud. Why did Mommy ever believe him? I honestly never could figure it out. Then the doorbell rang.

"Sakura! Get the door, honey. Mommy and Daddy are busy!" My mother commanded.

Whoever it was at the door, they had to be one of the most impatient people in the world. I could've sworn they were going to going to send that little ringer straight through the wall. It probably would have been easy too. Daddy punched through the door in my room once even.

I went up to the huge door and asked, trembling, "Who is it?"

"Inoichi. Open up, will you?" I heard a male voice answer.

"Ok . . Um, come in . . . I guess." I replied as I opened the door.

No sooner than I had gotten the door open more than a couple of centimeters, some blonde girl shoved her way in.

"You couldn't open the door any slower could you?" she said, impatiently.

"I . . I'm sorry." I muttered, looking down at my shoes.

"Yeah, you better be." She continued, "Since when did servant girls have pink hair anyway?"

"Now, now, Ino, be a good girl, will you? This is your new friend." her father cooed, slightly embarrassed by his daughter's arrogant behavior. His wife merely huffed and closed the door behind her.

"Friend? This is stupid. I don't want a new friend." The girl, Ino, put her hands on her hips and made a face, ruffling her little blue dress.

When I looked back, I saw my parents coming.

"Inoichi!" my father said, "It's so good to see you!"

I looked at them from my doorway, peeking around the corner. That Ino girl was staring back at me with some contorted expression on her face.

I saw the adults go sit at the table. Inoichi called Ino over and whispered something in her ear, then she glared at him and made a sullen face.

"Go on now, be a good girl. Do it for Daddy." he said as I watched him sneak out a bottle of sake from his coat and sit it on the table when she turned around and began making her way into my room, complaining about nearly everything inside of it from the very instant she stepped over the threshold.

"So, what's your name, forehead girl?" Ino asked, looking down at me as I sat on the floor.

"Sakura Haruno." I said, looking away.

"I don't like it."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's too pretty." She frowned. "It's prettier than my name. Sakura Haruno means 'Cherry Blossom.' Ino Yamanaka means 'Wild Boar.' Pigs aren't pretty."

"Well . . I think you're pretty." I piped. Then I looked away, surprised that I said something about such a selfish person.

"You do?" she asked. She sounded excited, almost happy.

I didn't answer.

Before we could talk anymore, Inoichi opened the door, looking drunk, and said, "Come on now, Ino. Say goodbye to Sakura. It's time to go home."

"I don't wanna go! I wanna be with Sakura!" Ino glared at him.

"Aww, honey. Your mother says we have to go . . but I'll try to convince her if you promise you can be good!" He said, trying to keep Ino from throwing a tantrum, no doubt. I could understand why you wouldn't want to make someone like her angry.

"Ok Daddy, I promise." Ino smiled.

In the end, it was decided that Ino would spend the night. In a way, it saddened me though, because, although I wouldn't be alone, I was afraid that my parents would drive Ino away from me with their quarrels. I never understood why they had to fight every single night. Never. It was simply beyond me. I just knew I wanted to get away from it somehow.

Ino didn't have any night clothes, so I lent her a pair of my shorts and a shirt. They were black, just like mine. We were going to talk some more, but just when I had gotten the first question out of my mouth, my dad came in, told us to get in bed and flicked off the light. "Lights out kiddies." he said in a low voice, scaring both of us, then slamming the door.

A few minutes passed, with neither of us saying anything, staring at the halo of light coming from around the badly sealed door. Ino scooted closer to me and held me close. "Sakura, your dad is scary." she hissed, no doubt knowing that if she was too loud, he would probably bust the door down trying to beat her ass for being an 'insolent brat' or something. I nodded and snaked my arm around her, not really knowing what else to do, since it was my first sleep over. It went quiet again.

"Ino?" I whispered, making sure I was just loud enough for her to hear over the racket my parents were making back in their bedroom. I was scared that if they heard us talking after they told us to go to sleep, they'd turn their anger on us. We'd be dead meat then. I was sure of it.

"Yeah?" she whispered back.

"We're going to be best friends, right?" I looked at her with wide eyes, even though I knew she couldn't see them, since they were shadowed by my hair. She probably wouldn't even be able to see them even if they weren't, since the only light in the room came from my window, which the moon shone through quaintly.

"Definitely," she whispered, and I saw a cute smile creep its way across her face.

Soon, she was fast asleep, snuggled up to me. Despite the raucous noise. I wasn't so lucky. It was nearly impossible for me to go to sleep in that house. I buried my face into Ino's short hair, inhaling. It smelled sweet, like sun-kissed blueberries and felt like rose petals against my face. At least something in that house was warm and inviting, I mused, before resigning myself to rest.

If there was a time that I never wanted to wake up, it would be right then. I don't remember any dreams or whatever, just the warmth and softness of Ino, and the wonderful smell. It was my first sleepover, and I didn't want to wake up. My wishes went entirely ignored, however, when I woke to Ino flipping herself over to keep the sun off her eyelids. She gave me an annoyed elbow to my ribs. At least my parents weren't fighting like they were the night before though.

"Ow, I thought you were supposed to be nice to me!" I said.

"Sakura, wake up, you're squeezing me too tight." she complained.

I loosened my grip. "Ino, it's too early for this, go back to sleep."

She giggled.

"What's so funny?" I asked, frowning.

"Sakura's not a morning person either!"

"I don't get it."

Later, after we had gotten dressed and eaten some food (cereal and coke) Ino had to go home. I was sad. It meant that I'd be all alone again, in that three ring circus of a household no less. Somehow, at the last minute, Ino managed to convince her parents to let me sleep over at her house though. I was relieved.

When we got in the car, Ino said, "We have school tomorrow, but it's okay Saku-chan, Daddy can drive us to school. Right?"

"That's right honey, I already talked to Sakura's mother about that." He sounded a little annoyed, but other than that, rather happy about it. It was typical behavior for him, probably. Always trying to please his daughter, all the while gaining an inferiority complex thanks to her.

We got to Ino's house. It was practically a mansion. "Woah, your house is huge!" I said, awed by its prestige.

"What do you expect. After all, it is MY house. Isn't it great?" Ino asked rather arrogantly.

"It's AWESOME!" I yelled.

Ino face-palmed, "Geez, you sound almost like one of those Americans . . . Take a chill pill already."

I frowned, but soon began smiling again when we went upstairs to her room and started playing with her toys. She had all sorts of stuffed animals. They were everywhere. Pink elephants, blue angel-bears, rainbow beanie babies, you name it, she had it all. She even had a giant rocking horse . . Well, it looked giant because I was so short.

Play time didn't last forever, though, because between all the eating, drinking, and bath-taking, we could barely get started before it was over. We finally settled on just laying back on her bed and talking about anything and everything. It wasn't long before we had to go to bed again, and I was relieved all over again, just to know that I wouldn't have to deal with my parents for just one night. I discovered something too. As long as I was with Ino, nothing else really mattered. We could just be in the same room, like we were the other night, whispering in the darkness next to each other and I would be happy. And sometimes, she really didn't have to talk at all.

'Me and Ino are going to be best friends forever,' I thought, smiling. I drifted off to sleep again.

The next day, I went home, knowing that I would probably be away from Ino for quite some time. I promised myself and Ino that I'd do whatever I could to see her again, and she promised me the same. I lived for her. She was my ground to walk on, my air to breathe in, and my bed to sleep in. Everything I knew was Ino, and I knew that everything she knew was me, Sakura. She told me so and that was the way it was to be, forever . . so we said it was, at least.

I didn't leave empty handed, however. Ino-chan gave me a little present. It was a red ribbon. From that day forward, I always wore the ribbon, every single day, and sometimes at night.

For the rest of the month, I only got to see Ino when I was at school. That was enough for me, until one day, I was at home putting up with the usual quarrels. It was exceptionally loud tonight, however. I felt like my head would explode. Each scream was like a stab to the heart. I had to get out some how. I had an idea. I looked at my window and back to the foot of my bed. Thinking quickly, I crept from my bed and arranged my covers to look like I was still in bed. 'If I can just climb up to the window sill now, I can go to Ino's house.'

I managed to get halfway out of the window without making too much noise. I crawled on my belly the rest of the way out. 'Don't mess up now Saku, it'll be over for you!' I thought. Thank God I managed to sneak to the edge and jump off without getting too scuffed up or making a lot of noise. Let me rephrase that. By not making a lot of noise, I mean not going over 80 to 100 decibels. That's no louder than a common blender (which is EXTREMELY loud). You could still hear my parents arguing, even from down the road, I imagine, since it echoed through the whole neighborhood. I'm surprised none of them called the cops for disturbing the peace.

I knew the way to Ino's well, as I committed each and every bit of it to my memory during the drive over there. First, you went down a dirt road, which had several flowering trees on each side, then you took a right when the dirt road met a paved one, and went left, right, left, left and stopped at the fourth house, which was about 200 yards down from the last turn. It was a long, tiring walk, but I knew that once I got there and managed to wake Ino up, I could finally get some sleep. I walked to the back yard and whispered, "Ino!"

Then I remembered what people did in the movies. I picked up a pebble and threw it at her window, hard, yelling, "Ino!" No success yet. I picked up another pebble, "Ino!" I threw it. I tried again. "INO!" I screamed, and threw the third rock. Ino opened the window before it hit, the rock sailing over her head and hitting something behind her.

"Sakura! What are you doing here?!" She hissed.

"I wanted to see if I could spend the night. My parents are fighting again." I said, frowning.

"Ok, I'm coming downstairs to let you in." She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Thanks Ino," I mumbled to myself when she disappeared from my view, walking around to the front door.

It took about a minute for her to get to the door and unlock it for me. She opened it, still rubbing her eyes. "Saku-chan, my parents are already asleep, try to be quiet, okay?" She whispered. "Their bedroom is on this floor. We can talk when we get to my room." She pulled me inside and shut the door gently, locking it.

She still had a hand on my forearm, leading me up the staircase, all the way to her room, which was on the top floor. It was eerily quiet. The only sound was our breathing and the cool night breeze as it came in through her window, sending chills down my spine.

"Ino?" I said.

At the sound of my voice, Ino turned around and hugged me tightly, unintentionally pressing my face into the cotton shirt she was wearing. "I missed you Saku-chan. Are you okay?" Ino said.

"I'm fine. Are you? You're acting weird." I asked.

"Well, you're acting weird for coming up here and throwing rocks at me." she laughed. "It must've been pretty bad."

I saw her pull a weak smile. This was a rare glimpse at her soft side. At school, in front of everyone else, she was . . different.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were opening the window until after I threw it." I said, apologizing sheepishly.

"It's okay. You didn't break anything."

"Okay."

"Saku-chan?" Ino yawned.

"Hm?"

"I'm tired . . Lets get some sleep." Ino said, rubbing her eye with one of her hands and pulling me into her bed with her. She took the side by the wall, and I took the side next to the nightstand, like always.

"Good night Ino-chan." I murmured into her hair.

After a few minutes, Ino said, "Sakura-chan?"

"What is it, Ino?"

"Do you . . love me?"

"Why are you asking me this?" I said, curious.

"Well, Daddy says that you should only sleep with people that love you . . or something like that. I forgot, but Daddy is a smart person, so . . You don't think that was a stupid question, do you?" She replied, still thinking.

"I think he meant that you're supposed to love your friends or something . . I don't really get it. Maybe we should ask him?" I said.

"But, do you?" She asked, anxious.

"Um . . Yes. I think so. I don't really know how to tell if you love someone though." I said, trying to give her the best answer I possibly could.

"Well, I had to love you a whole lot to let you stay in my house and sleep in my bed when it's this late, don't you think? And you had to love me to let me sleep in the same bed as you, I guess. That's what daddy said, that if you sleep with someone, right?" Ino said, now definitely putting a lot of thought into this conversation.

"He could of been talking about a different kind of sleeping though, cause you know how my mommy and daddy are, don't you?"

"I guess so. Sorry." Ino nuzzled me.

"It's ok, they're always like that. I haven't ever seen them any different."

For a while, we didn't say anything. It seemed like time was at a standstill. Again, Ino interrupted the silence. This time, Ino said, "You can come over here any time you want Saku-chan. I don't care what my parents say. Even if you have to come here every night."

"Thank you, Ino-chan." I murmured, starting to drift off into sleep in her arms, her little blonde locks brushing my lips as we cuddled.

"I love you Sakura-chan. We're going to be best friends forever." Ino said, giggling.

Hesitantly, I said, "I love you too Ino-chan."

The next morning, I woke up, not to Ino's movement, but to Ino's parents, standing over us, Ino's father smiling, and Ino's mother looking worried. Evidently they didn't notice that I was awake, because they kept whispering to themselves.

"What's Sakura doing here?" one would say, and the other would reply, "I'm not sure, but it's certainly a cause for concern. She must've had a good reason though."

I squeezed Ino lightly, trying to rouse her without being noticed. I wanted us to wake up together, or atleast look like we did.

"Sakura-chan, wake up." Ino said, yawning.

"Ino, I'm awake, I swear." I moaned.

I let go of her and stretched.

"Sakura." Inoichi said, "Good morning!"

"Good morning, I guess." I said.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Since you got here." I said in a cutesy voice, yawning.

"Are you okay?" He asked, as Ino's mom announced that she would be making breakfast.

"I'm fine." I said.

"Okay then." Inoichi said, before exiting the room. A second later, he opened the door and peeked his head in. "Oh, and just so you know, Miss Sakura-chan, you're always welcome here." He gave a smile and left once more.

"That was weird." Ino said.

"Yeah." I looked back to her.

"This means you can do this every day. Right?"

"I hope so."

Ino and I ate breakfast together, then I went home again. Thankfully, when I slipped in, no one was awake, and I went and slipped back into my bed, hair just as ruffled as it was when I had woken up before. I was glad. Over the next few months, Ino's family started coming over more often, sometimes two days in a row, always bringing Ino, and either letting her stay at our house, or bringing me to theirs, and it stayed that way for a long time. I had a good idea of why.

Soon, however, Ino and I started having our differences. It was over a boy. It started out as soon as we got into third grade. That stupid boy. To tell you the truth, I never liked him at all, I hated his guts more than anything. Him and his white shorts, blue shirt, and his unruly hair, always stealing Ino's attention, when I knew that I was the one who deserved it the most. Ino the one that told me that boys were 'icky' in the first place and boy was she right. All they ever were to you was a nuiscance, pulling your hair, throwing mud at you, chasing you around and calling you names.

His name was Sasuke Uchiha, and I hated him with every fiber of my being. Ino was mine, and I wasn't having him steal her. Ever. He had all those other girls fooled, but not me. He was just as stupid and gross as all the rest. I didn't want Ino to know that I was selfish though, so I pretended that I liked him too, hoping that she would like the fact that we had a common interest in him, because it worked that way for everything else, but alas, it backfired. It only drove us farther apart. We still enjoyed the comfort of eachother's warmth before we went to sleep and whatnot, but each time we saw him, or even heard the mention of his name, we would fight.

It got so bad that occasionally, I'd think that I liked Sasuke whenever we would argue, but it was the exact opposite. I was glad when it was that stupid blonde boy who ended up stealing his first kiss, even if it was accidental. He might have been a dunce, but if not for him, Sasuke would've had the chance to steal Ino's first kiss, ultimately meaning that I'd never have a chance of my name popping in her little head again, and I just couldn't have that. I HAD to get rid of Sasuke somehow.

Even as I lay in bed, snuggled up to her sleeping form, I knew that, sooner or later, our friendship would have a tragic end, thanks to that raven haired asshole. How could she like HIM? He didn't even pay any attention to her and dubbed the entire female population as annoying shrews. What's there to love in that? I felt the tears come again. They always came when I thought of where our friendship was headed. Thank God Ino was a heavy sleeper. I wouldn't be able to bear it if she were to see me cry again, not after I promised her that I wouldn't be a crybaby. I clutched her bare skin with my hands, burying my face in her hair, now far longer than it once was.

I wanted to tell her that I didn't like Sasuke, that I hated him with a burning, smoldering hate. Hate that burned hotter than a thousand hells. However, my insatiable pride wouldn't let me. I just wanted Ino to be how she used to be, not some Sasuke obsessed zombie. Almost every word that came out of her mouth now was 'sasukesasukesasuke.' It was always 'Sasuke' this and 'Sasuke' that. Never 'Sakura I want to hang out on Friday' or 'Sakura you're my best friend ever' or anything 'Sakura.' It was all about him and that's why I hated him with such passion, but if not for Sasuke, I wouldn't have had someone to contend with . . a true rival. I never could truly compete with Ino anyway. She was too dear to me for that.

Soon after the advent of Ino's infatuation with the boy, as I had previously predicted, Ino and I became rivals, supposedly. At first, we still managed to be friends and spend time with eachother, but it turned ugly rather quickly. Within less than two weeks, we were at eachothers throats . . Or rather, she was at mine, and I was acting like I was at hers to keep her from getting me in a choke hold. Little did Ino know, that with each insult that passed between us, my heart was trampled upon and torn into shreds, bit by tiny bit. I was getting a double dose of heartbreak with every step Ino took against me.

We had stopped seeing eachother, stopped talking altogether, with the exception of insults, and I was sure that Ino would be the first one to celebrate if I got in some freak accident and ended up dying a horribly painful death. At least I could savor the sound of her voice when ever she did actually speak to me, even if it was to put me down over and over again while I fought back invisible tears, shouting back random insults to mask it all and look like I was enjoying the fact that we were screaming obscenities at oneanother. All the while, my home life was consistently spiraling downward, further depressing me, since now that Ino and I were supposed to hate eachother, I couldn't run to her any longer . . . At least, not run to her and throw rocks at her window until she let me inside.

To keep myself from going insane, I somehow convinced myself to stalk her, hiding in the tree closest to her window, staring at her sleeping form through a pair of binoculars until I fell asleep. The next morning, I would run home and slip into my house and go to my room as quietly as possible, slipping back into bed again. "Sakura, you're a creep." I muttered to myself.

I was hearing voices now too, or more specifically, my voice, only amplified a million times and commenting randomly at every turn. 'Come on, you know you just want to punch him in the face, Saku. Do it, CHA!' it would scream, or 'Stop being a coward and kick his ass!'

I was a nut job, and I knew it. It was all Sasuke's fault. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a screw loose. It only got worse. I was even referred to a psychologist, for obvious reasons.

I kept telling myself, "Every rose has its thorns, Sakura, She'll come around eventually." I knew it was just a fairy tale, that it would never be like it was, but I just kept telling myself, desperate to believe. Each day, I swore to myself, "Sasuke will never have my Ino. Never. Nobody will," more and more as my usual cutesy, nice girl attitude was gradually stepped on, leaving only my desire to have Ino to myself, and the hate I had towards Sasuke and anyone who stepped in my way.

Later on, though, I started to notice my feelings for Ino shift in ways that I couldn't comprehend. My need for her still manifested itself deep into my essence, becoming nearly my sole reason for living, besides keeping her off of Sasuke (and getting rid of him in general). Afterall, if she couldn't touch him, she might eventually give up on him. Naruto, the dumb blonde boy was a big help in this, although I never told him of my secret gratitude. It started in fifth grade fifth grade, when we were placed in our study groups, which would last for the rest of our middle school years. I still didn't fully understand how or why the way I felt was changing. I certainly still wanted to be with her in every way possible, but I felt like I was starting to want her too much, if that were possible.

It went as far as to make me question my sexuality a bit even. Surely, I knew I loved her, but I didn't know if I could accept it if I was lusting after her like some ravenous dog, panting with exertion. I was too young to understand it.

* * *

Iruka sensei, our home room teacher, announced that we all passed our exams, which of course we knew, since it was our first day of middle school and the class was full of the same students as last year, with some additions to the roster. They were some foreign exchange students from another land or something. "So, you all understand that these these groups are permanent, with the exception of additions, correct? The Hoka- I mean All Powerful Overlord, Sakumo, has approved these teams, and will not be pleased if he ends up going through each and every one of them again." Iruka said, clearing his throat to begin announcing the list of groups.

"Yes." the rest of the class said in unison, while I stared at Ino, averting my gaze only when I suspected that I would be caught. Ino looked particularly zoned out today. That wasn't the norm for her. I considered asking what her what was wrong later on, but then I remembered that Ino and I weren't friends anymore, and probably never would be again. I sighed, still staring at her form as it slumped over her desk, her face propped on her hand, both of us very dimly aware of Iruka's sharp voice as it rang throughout the classroom. I couldn't help but admire her beauty now. She was simply gorgeous, with her thin body and delicate air. Everything about her, from head to toe was simply splendid. Why I hadn't noticed this before, I had no idea.

I snapped back to reality when I heard our names.

"Ino and Sakura." Iruka said loudly. Other people in the classroom began muttering and looking at eachother, dumbfounded. "How did those two get put in the same group. Doesn't everyone know that they hate eachother?" I heard one boy say to another. I shot a glare at him before turning back around in my seat.

"Wait, what? Rewind, rewind! What did you say?" Ino said, wide-eyed.

I was happy, extremely happy, on the inside. I didn't show it though. That would be a sign of weakness. I chuckled to myself, at Iruka's reply.

"You and Sakura are in the same group, Ino. Must I spell everything out for you until you pay attention?!" He preached.

"Maybe you should pay more attention to your students, Iruka." I mumbled under my breath. Thankfully, he never noticed.

My heart had skipped a beat when I heard those words come from Iruka sensei's mouth. I could've kissed him, but I didn't. I was nonetheless, extremely pleased with the fact that Ino would have a reason to talk to me. It was inevitable now. She would be forced into doing every single project, essay, and paper with me. It wouldn't be as graceful of a relationship as I could have wanted, and awkward as well, but I was happy to take up Ino's time any way I possibly could, even if it was unpleasant for both of us.

What I heard next from him only made the moment ever so much sweeter.

"The next group is . . . Naruto and Sasuke."

I couldn't hope but grin and stick my tongue out at Ino. I mouthed, "I knew Naruto would be the first to get Sasuke anyway." I savored it, only because it meant that it would be nearly hopeless to spend time around Sasuke if he was always working with Naruto, fixing all of his mistakes.

Ino gawked at me for a second, then mouthed back, "I thought you were supposed to like Sasuke-kun, Saku-chan."

She knew all the right buttons to push. I knew, with every second I stared her in the eyes, my own green orbs betrayed the truth, or merely implied it at the least. "Don't call me that," I hissed, at her. She was about a meter and a half away, so I was sure she heard me.

"Saku-chan . . . Why shouldn't I call you Saku-chan? Does it remind you of when we were friends?" She murmured, smirking.

"Shut up Ino-pig! I don't want to hear your nonsense!" I hissed, louder.

"Ooh, Saku-chan is fiesty." She said, confidently. Ino was using the past against me. I never should've said a word to her. Ordinarily, I would love to be called 'Saku-chan' again, but not like this. I couldn't stand being teased.

Class went by quickly, and the bell rang. Just before Ino and I exited the room, Iruka stopped us. "This is your chance to kiss and make up. Don't mess it up for yourselves. I'll be watching you." he said, "Now go."

I could tell Ino was annoyed. I had seen that expression enough over the past year to recognize it with ease.

I sighed. "Ino, what's your schedule?" I asked.

She passed it over wordlessly, sighing as well.

"Just great . . . Same as mine . ."

"Wonderful," she said, glaring back at Iruka's classroom as we headed to our second period class, Biology . . With Might Guy. Ugh.

* * *

End Chapter One

What do you think?


	2. Another Day, Another Drama

Wewt! Chapter 2! I'll try not to do so many time skips in this chapter. I don't want to finish it before it ever begins, if you get what I mean.

There's a flash back or two here, by the way. Did I mention implied yaoi-ness?

Also, I know, this is really short compared to the other one, but I update daily, so eh, you guys won't really have much to be disappointed with about it. This chapter is mainly about Sakura and Naruto's friendship, which I think will be a key part in the story later on . . . Well, atleast for a chapter or two. Sasuke will actually appear sooner or later, so you Sasu fans will have something to look forward to.

* * *

Ino and I walked to our Biology class . . . Well, it was actually pre-biology, but that counts, right? We sat in our seats, which were marked with our names via a small yellow card. I sat right behind Ino.

"Great. He just had to make you sit behind me, didn't he?" Ino flipped her blonde ponytail, tugging at her purple top and plopping down into her desk, looking bugged, to say the least.

"How wonderful Ino, now I can see you AND smell you!" I said, sounding sarcastic, but still meaning what I said.

"Sakura, you know, I was actually going to TRY to be your friend again, but now, I'm having second thoughts." Ino frowned.

"I was serious about that." I frowned as well, taking my seat.

"You're crazy Sakura-chan." Ino said.

"I told you not to call me that." I furrowed my brow.

"You just have to ruin everything, don't you?" Ino said.

"Don't you know me anymore?" I asked, changing the subject.

"How am I supposed to? You're like a freaking recluse! My dad even said you were sta- never mind."

"That's ridiculous Ino, I'm practically a social butterfly!" I lied. I had changed nearly completely from the year before. The Sakura who always smiled and wore the black shorts and the long red shirt was long gone, replaced by a sarcastic freak in tight black jeans, converse, and tight black shirts, the only exception was for white dress shirts, which was a new style in my subculture, dubbed the 'Emo' people.

Ino laughed wryly. "Sakura."

I watched as she looked down, not replying. I sensed she was about to say something else, and my intuition proved right.

"Sakura, you and I know that that's a lie. Ever since you and I stopped talking, you haven't been the same. You're- You're . . different and I don't care how many times you try to act tough, I know you, and I know that you're not okay."

"And you somehow get the idea that you can play psychiatrist with me, why?" I asked, genuinely annoyed at her correct assessment of my mental state. My eyes betrayed me, as usual, however, and my true feelings were revealed. Deep down, I was relieved in a way that she didn't seem to show any signs of her normal aggression towards me. I was sort of happy, in a way, that Ino knew. At the same time, I was also worried. Had she found my weak spot?

"Look, I'm worried about you, ok?" Ino said, softening her expression. "The Sakura I know is better than this."

"Okay, Ino, I give. You got me, you win, I don't care anymore. Whatever it is that you're trying to prove, you win. If this has anything to do with Sasuke, you can have him for all I care, ok?! I quit!" I yelled, "So stop FUCKING with my head!!" I balled my fists as I stood there, tears forming in my eyes. I was so close to telling her just how I felt, spilling every little detail of my fantasies to her. I wanted us to be together, as friends, maybe more, now more than ever.

Quite a crowd was starting to gather around us now. It was about normal. Ino and I fought nearly all the time now, and I could just picture each one of them standing around us, passing popcorn and soda around, watching us like we were the hottest drama to hit the red carpet.

Ino looked shocked. It wasn't like me to be so brazen. I hoped I didn't hurt her too badly with the outburst, but then I realized we had both done much worse to each other. I remembered it so clearly. It seems like just yesterday, we were in the bathroom, clawing and beating one another madly.

She had been the one to throw the first punch. She missed. The mere suggestion that she was willing to strike me, however, was like she had taken my own heart, rended it from my chest, and smashed it before my eyes. She had a right to be angry. I had been so cruel to her. I got so angry. I couldn't control myself. I hit Ino that day.

"Sakura."

I was yanked out of my flash back. I immediately looked down. I felt depressed. 'She hates me, I know she does,' I thought. I couldn't bring myself to speak to her, still caught up in my memory.

"I'm sorry." Ino said, sounding ashamed. An apology was something that you rarely got from Ino. I would cherish those bittersweet words. Words that symbolized victory, victory that I knew I didn't deserve. Cowards don't deserve to win.

"What?" I said, taken aback.

Most of the crowd was now leaving. They knew that the brief argument was over. It was a good thing, since Guy Sensei was just now entering the classroom. We all took our seats.

"I'm sorry." She repeated, whispering.

"You're apologizing to me?" I mumbled, asking, as if to see if the moment was really real. 'Did I really hear that right?' I thought.

"Yeah, and you better appreciate it. I'm not saying it again, Forehead-Girl." She glared at me.

'Perhaps she doesn't hate me after all.' I thought, relieved, as our Sensei began going over the project we would be assigned to for the next month. I paid no attention to him, and I had no intention of doing so either. I had a certain beautiful blonde to be focused on, rather than him and those bushy black brows and bowl cut. I couldn't help but think of how much better Ino was than me. She was pretty, honest, strong . . . everything a man could want.

I was totally different. I was ugly . . Nothing would ever change that, no matter how hard I tried to cover it up. I was always the ugly one, with the scrawny figure and the loose tongue, dark atrocities flowing from my lips with each word I spoke. I didn't even notice the difference between anything anymore.

Before I realized it, class was over, and this was the way of things until it was time for lunch. Again, as always, I had to sit with Ino. She was across from me. Our seats weren't assigned, so I guess I didn't **have** to sit by her really, but rather, I was too lazy to move. I didn't mind sitting in front of her at the small two person table, but I didn't like the idea much.

"Do you **really** have to follow me everywhere?" I asked, feigning annoyance being a custom of mine since the forming of our rivalry. I was more of a loner now that we weren't exactly on the best of terms, and while her presence was welcome, I felt like I had to at least make it look like I was putting up a little distance between us to keep her from discovering my true feelings.

"I just thought that since, well, you know, that I would try to spend a little time with you . . I guess. If you really don't want us to be friends, just say it. It's not like you haven't done it before." Ino said.

"I never said I didn't want to be your friend, Ino. You were the one who started it, remember?" I toyed with the food on my lunch tray, stabbing it with my fork.

"You were the one who stopped coming to my house." Ino took a bite of the pitiful excuse for a ham and cheese sandwich furnished by the school cafeteria, making a face.

The realization hit me. I _had _in fact stopped seeing her, but that was only because I couldn't bear how we would argue and fight when I **did** stay, or she would talk about Sasuke the entire time, while I fought a seemingly unending battle against the salty water droplets forming in my eyes. Even while we slept, I couldn't escape them. I cried for her, every night, without fail.

The fact that I stopped going to her house, however, didn't allow me to escape the tears. Stalking seemed to make it worse, but it was the only way I could console myself. The sight of her cute face, resting in her pillow, that was enough to keep me alive.

I looked down.

"Sakura?"

I jumped. "I need some space."

Ino nodded and I got up to threw away my tray, staring at my black converse shoes and close fitting black jeans as I did so. I glanced back to Ino, who I noticed was staring at me. I blushed. I needed to get some air, so I left the lunch room and headed for my locker, which was placed next to Ino's. Assigned lockers were so ridiculous, almost as ridiculous as the idea of me being a social butterfly.

Surprisingly, Naruto was on his way to his locker as well, which was unusual, since he was almost always eating ramen this time of day, sitting by Sasuke in the cafeteria. He was attempting to open his locker, with minimal success. Finally, he managed to open it.

"Naruto? Of all people, why are you here?" I asked.

"Going to my locker." The blonde answered.

"That's obvious. I mean, what are you going to your locker for?" I clarified, opening my locker as well.

"I'm getting the book for my next class. Why are you here?" He asked, looking a bit worried. He may have been a little on the stupid side, but he knew something was wrong. "You look red. Are you okay?"

"Trying to get away from Ino for a while. I'm fine." I said. It was true, I was fine. I just felt like getting out of there before the mood soured between us and I made a screw up.

"Oh. You guys get in a fight again or something?" He asked. I got the feeling that he knew about my obsession with her. In fact, I was pretty sure that everyone except for her knew about it, and just how far it went. Most people thought that it was because I wanted to slit her throat, but Naruto knew different. He knew how much it hurt me to know that she and I weren't friends anymore.

"No, I just had to get a little air before I fucked something up." I replied, sighing.

"Oh. Well, I have an idea. Take these." He said, offering a handful of paper slips to me, "I was saving these for someone else, but you can have them."

"What are they?" I said, skeptical.

"They're concert tickets."

I handed them back, "Come on, Naruto, these belong to you. Use them on that special someone you were talking about. I'm ordering some next week anyway."

"Well, okay." He smiled.

"Thanks for the offer." I said, "I'll see you later!" I slammed my locker and locked it. Naruto was really a nice guy. Too bad nobody really seemed to notice him all that much. He and I had become friends when we found out that we had a common enemy. It didn't take too long for us to warm up to each other, after all, we were both out casts, and despised Sasuke equally.

"Later Sakura!" I heard him yell from behind me, "Good luck with Ino-chan!"

I rolled my eyes. He was sweet, but he just hadn't a clue about how to handle talking to girls. He was insensitive and stupid sometimes, but charming, in a geeky, obsessed kind of way. He was the Prince of the Nerds. Not many people knew that he was bisexual though, despite all the times he would hang all over guys and stuff. He had told me, after he and I had brushed over the topic of my feelings for Ino a couple times.

Naruto was head over heels for Rock Lee, and I for Ino. We agreed never to tell anyone of our feelings. Ever. How Naruto fell for Lee, I had no clue, and I was pretty sure I didn't want to, but in my sea of despair, I knew I could lean on him, even if he didn't know I was doing so.

I went back to the cafeteria, which was now nearly empty. I was glad, in a way. I hated big crowds. The noise reminded me of my life at home all too much. I bit my lip and glanced around, looking for Ino. To my surprise, she was still at the table, staring blankly across the room. I walked over and sat down in front of her. I noted that she hadn't so much as touched her food since I left.

'I wonder if she's trying to go anorexic on me . . . ' I thought, 'Hmm . . Nah, she's not that dumb now, is she?' I wondered. I looked at her, still staring out the window like she was a minute ago. Her body was there, but her mind sure wasn't. 'Wonder what she's thinking about,' I thought, 'Is she thinking about me?' My pulse quickened at the mere suggestion of it.

"Hey you." I said, "Earth to Ino-chan."

"Huh?!" She said, nearly jumping out of her seat, "When did you get here?!"

"I've been here for three minutes." I said gravely.

"Oh."

"It's time for us to go back to class." I said, pointing at our Sensei, who was leaving.

Ino nodded and went to throw her tray away.

We came back to the classroom and grabbed our things, heading to our next class when the bell rang. The rest of the day went by rather quickly, between the slow return of our friendship. By our last class, seventh period, we were almost back to our usual selves. The awkwardness remained, but I could feel our old bonds awakening. I knew it would never be the same though. How could it be? We were so close, but that was years ago . . . before Sasuke happened.

Ino wasn't ready to give up on him yet, I just knew it. It was still going to be a daunting task to survive this year. I frowned without realizing it. I looked to Naruto, whose desk was just to the right of mine. He gave me his usual happy grin before winking. It was his silent way of saying, _"It's okay Saku-chan, I'm here for you. I'll drop by your house later if you want."_

I smiled at him, wordlessly nodding, _"You always look at the bright side don't you? How cute. I'll see you after school, about four or five in the afternoon."_

He looked away, now beaming his toothy grin at Lee, who merely sweat-dropped and chewed at his ragged nails. In a way, it was cute, seeing those two interact. I turned back to the matter at hand, staring at Ino's back and thinking of ways to get rid of Sasuke.

Soon, school was over, and I thanked the heavens that it was finally over and done with. Now I would finally get the break I deserved, even if it was only for the weekend. Still, two days away from that horrid mental-ward of a educational institute was enough to lift my spirits. I had at least an hour before I was due to arrive at Naruto's house when I finished walking home. I took the time to put on some of my favorite clothes.

As usual, I stuck with my usual boyish look and grabbed my ripped up black jeans, covered in chains, writing, and lots of shiny buttons. They even had zippers. Next, I took a pink and black striped shirt, and an equally ripped up black jacket with three quarter length sleeves and threads hanging from it that seemed to flow a mile long. I shoved my feet into my converse shoes, giving myself the once over in the mirror. I so looked like a boy, with the exception of my hair, of course. I grabbed my hat to cover it up.

I was just about to leave when I remembered something. I grabbed my cell phone and headed over to Naruto's house. Luckily, it was only a block or two from mine. When I got there, Naruto was fidgeting and fussing over the zipper on his hoodie. He didn't notice me come in.

"Need help?" I asked.

Naruto perked up, "Sakura, thank God! I thought you'd never get here. Can you help me zip this thing? It's stuck.

"Idiot, how did you manage to get it this hopelessly stuck?" I asked him, yanking on the zipper hard.

"I was just putting it on a couple minutes ago and then it got stuck there!" His eyes were wide.

I huffed, finally managing to get it un-stuck. "You better be glad I was here, or your little black and white striped hoodie would've been history." I remarked, pointing at the thing and grinning. "What did you really call me out here for anyway?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Well . . . I was thinking . . Could we go to the mall tomorrow?" He asked, hope in his bright blue eyes.

"Absolutely not. There's no way I'm going to swim in a sea of preps again. Ugh, I hate preps!" I said, growling.

"But Sakura! Come on, everybody loves the mall!" He pleaded.

"I don't."

"I'll buy you those pants you like at Hot Topic, and we can go see Bullet for My Valentine and Korn!" He bargained, clasping his hands together.

"Okay fine, you win, but if you fuck up, I'm seriously going to kill you." I was a sucker for good deals, even if it meant suffering through each push, prod, and poke that I just knew I would be faced with.

"YESSSSSSS!" Naruto pumped his fists wildly through the air with victory. God, he was starting to get on my nerves. I just knew that tomorrow, something very bad was going to happen . . . but that could've just been because I ate raw bacon before I decided to get dressed and waltz over to Naruto's. Annoying little bastard . . .

**End Chapter**

* * *

What do you guys think? insert review whoring here

Tell me what you like about it! I'm still thinking about the plot. Also, I credit the idea for making Sakura and Naruto go to the mall to Lostnomadgirl.


	3. Together Again

Yay, I updated again! You better be grateful! =b

Okay, so I haven't really put much yuri into the story so far. I'll work on that, I promise. It's coming soon. As for now, there's a teeny bit of mild yaoi, but only implied. I was listening to some Taylor Swift, Korn, and NIN. Odd combination, but it gave me enough inspiration to churn this out. From now on, I will do my best to update daily.

Towards the end, I had Wonderwall set on loop in media player. You should check it out.

Lots of OOC =/

* * *

I woke up the next morning after spending the rest of the day before with Naruto. I noticed that I had forgotten to change clothes, or even take my shoes off for that matter. 'Damn Naruto, always wearing me out like that. At least he cares, unlike a lot of people though,' I thought.

I rolled out of bed, still exausted. 'I need a shower.' I thought. It wasn't that I stank, or anything like that, I just felt like I needed to shower before I did anything. I glanced at the clock beside my bed.

"Three PM. Damn, how'd I sleep so late?" I muttered, then cursed Naruto. 'This is all his fault,' I thought.

I took a shower and went back to my room. My parents were nowhere to be found, thank God. I hated them so much. I looked through my closet and picked out a pair of clothes similar to the ones I had on the day before. I was wearing a red and black striped hoodie, with a green shirt underneath, a matching red and black hat to match. As for pants, I wore some black jeans, again, covered in chains, buttons, writing, and unsightly threads, just the way I liked them.

I went into the kitchen. There was a note on the table.

It read:

_Sakura,_

_Your father and I are going to be gone for the rest of today and tomorrow. I would have told you earlier, but you were fast asleep. There's food in the fridge, you know what to do with it. Don't burn the house down._

_Your Mom_

I sighed and crumpled up the paper, tossing it in the can. 'Well, two days without those two couldn't possibly be bad for me,' I thought.

I had agreed later yesterday that Naruto and I would meet at his house at five o'clock. I glanced at the clock again before looking myself over in the mirror atop my old and beaten dresser. My room was a wreck. It had been that way since Ino and I drifted away from each-other.

It was nearly 4:15. 'Shit! I need to get going,' I thought.

**'Well, that's obvious, you retard.' **My inner self blared at me.

'You again?' I sighed, 'Great. So now I have to deal with you AND the preps at the mall. Simply wonderful.'

**'I love it when you defy me. You really contradict yourself, Sakura, seeing as I'm the reflection of your thoughts and desires.' **The voice chuckled, rambling.

'I really wish you would shut up. Stupid anti-depressants . . . I knew I should've never downed the first one.' I had stepped out of the door and was now running down the road like a frantic school girl, which I was.

Five minutes of converse shoes thrusting against pavement later, I was at Naruto's. I pounded my fists against the door as if my life depended on it. Naruto opened the door quickly.

"Man, Sakura, you don't have to beat the door down. Chill!" He said sheepishly.

"My bad. I thought you might leave me." I said. It was true. I had a gut feeling that he'd be gone before I got there. My sense of time was terrible.

"Well, we might as well go since you're here. The mall's not too far. I think we could walk there." He said nonchalantly, as if he thought I hadn't been walking enough today already.

"Walking?! Are you crazy?!" I grabbed him by his orange shirt, "I walked all the way here from my house, and now you expect me to walk all the freaking way to the mall?! You're insane!" I screamed, rearing back and balling up my fist. If he thought he could get me to walk all that way, to go to that horrid place, he was sorely mistaken. You couldn't pay me enough to do that, and especially not for Naruto, even if we were friends.

"S-Sakura! I was only kidding! We can ride my bike – I mean, if that's okay with you that is!" He grinned, pathetically attempting to cover his fear.

"Who's pedaling?"

"Um . . I am?"

"Great, that means I get the stunt bars!" I yelled, tugging him over to his bike. Man, was I bipolar today or what? I knew where his bike was because sometimes, he and I rode it back to his house to play PS2 together. Speaking of PS2, which Naruto sucked at, we needed to get some names. Too bad the only shop with games at the mall was much too expensive to really buy anything from. Most of their games sucked balls, too.

We hopped onto the bicycle together, Naruto panting as he pedaled, me standing on the stunt bars, bouncing up and down constantly. After about a 15 minute ride, we arrived. Naruto proceeded to chain his bike to the nearby bike-rack while I tapped my foot, glaring at everyone else as they passed by me. If looks could kill, they'd all be pushing up daisies, I was sure of it.

"Hurry it up will you?" I said, impatiently.

"I'm done." He said matter-of-factly.

"Then what the hell are you doing?!" I barked, drawing some rather unnecessary attention. I spun around to see the mall cop, Kakashi, a former teacher of mine waggling a finger at me.

"Now, now, Sakura, keep it down. You'll disturb the peace, which would mean I'd have to write you a ticket . . Again." He remarked. Kakashi was a fucking dumb ass, an exceptionally annoying one too. I hated that man. He fined me 3000 yen for getting in a heated argument with some cashier lady who short-changed me. What utter bull-shit!

'Bastard.' I thought as he walked away. Kakashi was a shit face. I hated him too. He tried to fail Naruto and I when he was our teacher, just because he didn't like our attitudes. You have to admit though, we were annoying at times, but still, we were only 8! I was happy when he quit teaching.

"Come on Sakura, lets go to the arcade!" Naruto said cheerily, interrupting my internal ranting.

"Whatever. I got nothing better to do." I followed him to the arcade.

On the way there, however, that revolting dog-boy, Kiba showed up. It ruined my mood completely. Kiba was a rude jackass with a whiny pup in his jacket. How he wasn't banned from the mall, I had no idea. He smelled of garbage, dog drool, and excessive cologne. I had no clue how Naruto was able to stand being within ten feet of him. I scrunched up my nose in disgust. Kiba was just . . . Ugh, despicable.

"Retards." I said, walking away, glancing back at their forms to make sure they weren't following. To my relief, the two started walking in the other direction.

I looked around at all the people. I despised them all, knowing that with each scowl and glare I gave, they formed their own labels of me. I was on my way to Hot Topic, after wandering aimlessly through the vast expanse of the mall, frowning and looking about. I entered the store. As usual, Hinata was on her shift and was arranging clothes, while looking dark and mysterious, and duck-butt (Sasuke) was flipping his hair, standing out side of the store, shooting glares at anyone who dared look at him, including me. I gave him my traditional death stare. He looked away, huffing.

I hated him.

I looked around the store wordlessly, feeling of random accessories and clothing. Disappointed that there was nothing cheap enough for me to buy, I left. I got to the food court, and was walking back in the direction of the arcade when I heard Naruto yelp, "Sakura! Look out!"

"What?" I said, glancing around, seeing nothing wrong. A second later, I was crashed into by a distraught Kiba, followed by a crazy nerd, Rock Lee, and Kakashi, the mall cop. Kiba got to his feet quickly and ran off, screaming, "Sorry Sakura!"

I stood up quickly, assessing my injuries. I wasn't physically injured, but my composure sure was about to bite the bullet. 'Damn that Kiba! Damn them all, especially Naruto and that Sasuke asshole!'

I was about to curse the mall to the depths of hell, shaking my fist as I did so, when I looked up. What I saw was heavenly. 'Lavender panties . . . Lace ones too.' I thought. Instantly, I had recognized Ino's form, leaning perfectly against the balcony above, sipping a drink. I had the best view. I would have taken a picture if I had the chance. "Oh . . . How heavenly." I muttered as I felt a blush creep its way across my face.

"Getting a good view I see." A certain raven haired boy said, glancing at Ino, high above us. It was just loud enough for Ino to hear.

"Fuck you," I hissed, before he was out of earshot.

The blonde next to Ino said something and motioned down at me, laughing. Out of the corner of my eye, I vaguely noticed a crowd beginning to form.

"EEK! YOU!" Ino screamed.

I looked back to Naruto, who was wide-eyed, clearly watching the two above. Suddenly, he yelled, "SAKURA!"

"Crap." I said, as I turned my face in the direction of the girls, just in time to catch an icy latte . . . with my face. I glared at them, biting my lip, tasting the liquid secretly, the liquid that had touched Ino's lips. I thought I tasted a hint of lip gloss.

**'How exquisitely exasperating.' **My inner self said lewdly.

'Shut up.' I ordered. It did little good. My self proclaimed manifestation of desires would talk to no end, it seemed, at least until I was ripped from my quiet war by the voice of my love.

"Serves you right, looking at another girl's underwear like that!" Ino said, looking triumphant, and the two girls sauntered off. When the crowd has dissipated, and no one was looking, I went and grabbed the cup. I would treasure it, just as I treasured the ribbon she gave me. I tasted the cream of her latte once more, feeling an odd urge to lick the sticky liquid off of myself. I wiped most of it from my face, licking my fingers. It was good, and oddly sexy.

I looked at the cup again, and I noticed something. There was a small, neatly written (well, neat enough to read) note. It read:

_We need to talk. Call me._

_Ino_

On the other side, she wrote her number, not that I needed it. I had already bummed it off of one of her friends and memorized it. I never called, but to know that I had something of Ino's, some way to access her gave me a certain confidence that I had generally lacked.

"Sakura?"

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Are- Are you okay?" He sounded afraid.

"I'm fine, Naruto." I said, monotonously.

"But those girls threw-"

"Fine, Naruto, I am perfectly fine." I interrupted.

"Ah, okay then. Shouldn't you go change?" He asked me.

"I guess. Can you take me home? I need to call someone."

"Sure. I was just about to ask if you minded. I'm getting hungry, so I kinda wanna go fix some ramen. They don't have ramen here. I think that sucks."

"Yeah." I agreed, being somewhat of a fan of traditional Japanese foods rather than the western alternatives that the mall had.

We arrived at my house in about half an hour later and said our good byes. As soon as he was out of sight, I whipped out my phone and dialed Ino's number, heart racing. 'What's she going to say?' I thought, frantically.

The phone rang twice before Ino picked up.

"Hello?" Ino said.

I was too caught up in her air of excitement to really say anything back.

"Um . . hello? Who is this?"

Still, I didn't answer.

"Okay, I'm hanging up now!"

"Wait! Don't hang up, Ino!"

"Who is this then?" Ino asked.

"It's – It's me, Sakura."

"Oh, you actually called."

"Why did you ask me to do this if you didn't expect me to call?" I asked.

"I . . . I wanted to ask you something." Ino said, sounding depressed.

"What?" I said, getting impatient.

"Why were you staring . . at my underwear?"

"I don't know." I said, panicking on the inside.

"Oh . . Well, um, okay then." Ino said. I could feel the awkward atmosphere closing in on me. I needed to change the subject.

"Why are you asking me this?" I asked, chewing the end of my finger to no end.

"Saku-chan, I – I need you to come over. I miss you so bad!"

"Ino, I-"

"Sakura, I don't want us to fight over Sasuke! He's just a big fat jerk! All he cares about is killing his damn brother and fixing his fucking hair-"

"Ino, I told you, I-"

I was forced to pull the phone from my ear and turn it on speaker. Ino's voice blared, "I know, Sakura, you said he was yours and yours alone, but it's not like that! I don't like him! I did at first, but now-" The rest was incomprehensible. She was bawling her eyes out.

Immediately, I started making my way towards Ino's house. I opted to take a short cut and jumped the small fence in our yard, putting me on the path framed by rows of trees, Sakura petals dancing around me as I sprinted full speed to Ino's house.

"I'm coming Ino," I muttered to myself.

"Sakura, what's that noise?" Ino said between sniffles and sobs, "Is your phone breaking up?"

"Nuh-uh . . I . . I'm . . running." I said, breathing raggedly.

"Why?" She said, breathing equally as raggedly.

"Because . . . " I said. I was three blocks from Ino's house now, running full speed. It was getting dark.

"WHY?!" Ino screamed, "I HATE MY LIFE! WHY CAN'T I JUST DIE!"

"Ino . . Don't . . . Say things . . Like that!" I said, nearly in tears. 'Two blocks to go.'

I heard banging sounds in the background, "Why do you hate me Sakura?!" She raved, "I'm going to fucking kill myself, Sakura! It's all your fault!"

"Ino! You can't! . . Please!" I begged, my whole body aching from running and shouting.

"There's no way you're talking me out of this Sakura, not even if you pop up out of nowhere and beg me! It's my turn to be the weakling, the crybaby, whatever! My blood is on your hands Sakura. This is all your fault. Everything is your fucking fault! You ruined everything! I hate you!" Ino screamed, just as I was jumping the fence to her yard.

"Ino! Please, I'm begging you! Don't die!" My heart sank. I was in her yard now, staring up at her form, holding a piece of glass to her throat, threatening to slit it. "Ino, I'll never forgive you if you do this to me." Tears streamed down my face.

"I'm going to do it!"

"NO!" I screamed, picking up a rock and aiming it for her window. I watched as the rock sailed through the air, in what seemed to be slow motion. It hit its target dead on, nailing the center of the frame and putting a size-able dent in it.

"Sakura?"

I watched as the glass shard fell from Ino's hand, her form turning to the window. I clutched the phone at my side staring at Ino with fearful, angry eyes.

"Is – is that you?" Ino opened her window.

I stared up at her, not giving her an answer.

"I – I'm sorry Sakura!" She yelled, without warning.

"Ino."

"Sakura, you came for me."

"How could you do this to me?!" I screamed. I hung up on my phone as well.

"I said I was sorry!"

"How dare you! I was worried!"

Ino burst into tears, "Is this all you came here for?!"

"Ino, please, spare me this drama and let me in. I'm begging you." I said, feeling particularly drained.

She nodded and went downstairs. I hopped over the fence back into the front yard and walked to the front door. Ino let me in, wiping tears from her eyes and leading me up stairs to her room. It looked completely disheveled, not at all like Sakura had remembered it to be. The cute stuffed animals which once were put up so neatly were strewn everywhere now, their former luster lost and forgotten. Ino's clothes and accessories, her treasured belongings, all in deplorable states, stored atop the dirty carpet.

The remnants of what was once Ino's mirror, which was once part of her vanity, now lay in pieces on her floor. Sakura was careful not to step on the glass.

"Ino . . . What happened to you?" I asked in disbelief.

"I don't know." She whispered, "I just want to be with you again." Ino hugged me, but then pulled away, as if my body was made of acid.

"I'm sorry." I murmured, sitting down on her bed.

"You don't have to be . . . This is my fault."

After a few minutes of silence, I said, "Ino?"

"Hm?"

"I just want you to know that . . . I never really liked Sasuke."

"You . . didn't?"

"I hate his guts, Ino."

Her mouth gaped. Could she really have been as dense not to notice?

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I thought I would lose you. I thought that if we were rivals, at least I would be to be around you." I sighed, "I know, you probably hate me for it."

Ino sat down on the bed beside me, staring at the ground.

"Saku-chan, I could never hate you."

I blushed and laid back on the bed. "I'm glad."

Ino followed suit. We took our usual places on the bed, She on the side closest to the wall, and I on the opposite, bodies intertwined.

"Sakura? Don't only couples sleep like this?" Ino asked, "It's kind of weird for two teenage girls to be sleeping in this position. I could see it being normal if we were kids still, but-"

"I like it better this way." I interrupted.

"Okay," Ino resigned herself to nuzzling my collar bone with her face.

"Hey, you remember what your dad said about people who sleep together, right?" I asked, remembering it as if it were yesterday.

"Yeah, but didn't you say you thought he was talking about a different kind of sleeping." I felt her furrowing her brow.

"I miss those days, Ino." I sighed. 'If only you knew how I felt about you,' I thought.

"I know what you mean."

"I love you, Ino." I said suddenly, unable to resist, reminiscing.

"What?"

"You know what your father said about two people who sleep together." I giggled, using that as an excuse to proclaim my love openly, without worrying about her thinking badly of me. I couldn't really reveal how I felt about her. That would be suicide. I had to have a clear sign that she felt the same for me if I was ever to hope to attempt to tell her.

Ino sighed, "I love you too, Saku-chan, now get some sleep."

**End Chapter**

* * *

Well, how did you guys like it? Reviews please!


	4. I love You So

Wow, four chapters in two days? I must be doing some serious steroids now, ehe . . . I'm going to start putting thoughts in italics now. It will look much cleaner this way.

Well, after the little suicidal incident yesterday, I think I just may give you all a break. That was pretty dramatic . . . a little **too** dramatic for my tastes. Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

Time skip! Yay! And did I mention a lot more drama? It'll be made up for with lots of fluff though. One sided yuri for the most part. =)

* * *

"I win!" Naruto shouted, standing and throwing his hands up in the air triumphantly.

"Shut up, Naruto. I let you win on purpose." I lied. We were playing Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi 3, and I had lost to him. _'Stupid Broly, he always wins if you mash enough buttons.'_ I thought, tossing the controller down.

"Come on Sakura, you know I won fair and square!" Naruto crossed his arms.

I sighed for the fifth time. He was right, and I hated that fact. I still had Ino though. _'That last night I spent with her was great. She was so soft and warm . . . and – Damn, I wish Naruto would shut up. Retard . . . Stop interrupting me when I'm thinking!'_

I shot Naruto a glare. He knew what that meant.

"Okay, I'm shutting up now."

"That's a good boy." I muttered, knowing the silence wouldn't last too long, not that I really cared at all, as long as he wasn't annoying me.

"Well, uh, I'm just going to go make some ramen, okay?" He said shakily, avoiding my stare. I was surprised he didn't ask anything about Ino, or anyone else I knew. Normally, he was full of questions, even when he knew I wouldn't answer them. _'Is he okay?'_ I thought, _'Of course he is, that big knuckle head . . . What am I thinking? Since when did I care about Naruto?' _

My phone rang. I flipped it open, sighing. It was Ino. I answered.

"Finally, I thought you would never call!" I said. It had been weeks since the incident with the latte, and neither of us had called eachother since. I guess we figured that it was better to talk in person. Either way, I was happy . . . until Ino spoke, at least.

"Sakura, where are you?" She seemed urgent.

"Naruto's house . . . why?" I said, mood shattered by the fear in her voice.

"I've got this crazy ex-boyfriend, Sakura, he won't leave me alone!" Ino said, whispering.

"Do your parents know?" I asked, thinking that they could possibly get to her quicker than I could.

"No, they're at work, and I'm not supposed to call them then." Her voice was shaky.

"Where are you?" I asked, now deeply worried.

"I'm at my house. He says he's coming for me. You've gotta help me, Sakura! He's fucking crazy!"

"I'll be there."

"Thank you Sakura." Ino said, voice trembling. I heard her sniffle, then hang up.

I listened to the long beep, before hanging up as well. _'Ino, what have you gotten yourself into?'_

I stood up, "Naruto, we've gotta go, now!" I yelled, knowing he would have no idea what to do. I ran to the front door, pulling Naruto along with me. He looked at me stupidly.

"What? What's so important?" He said.

"Ino's in trouble, now we gotta go! . . Are the maid's car keys still here?" I asked frantically.

"Yeah, they're right there! What're you gonna do with those?" He stuttered as I yanked them from their resting place on the small key-rack. Naruto didn't have a real mom or dad, but he had a maid who lived with him. Poor thing. She always got the bad end of everything.

"I'm gonna drive the car! What else?!" I yelled, running to his mom's car and yanking open the door. Naruto followed, jumping into the passenger seat and closing the door. I hoped to the high heavens that cars were just like in those arcade games. I jammed the key into the ignition and started it.

"Do you even know how to drive this thing?!" Naruto yelled as I backed over the neighbor's trashcan. "Man, the maid's gonna be so pissed," He hissed.

The car was new. I didn't take time to look, but it appeared to be an economy car with a lime green paint job and racing stripes on top. What a weird combination. I anticipated the funny looks we would get if we were seen speeding around in the thing, grimmacing. I hated small cars.

"No, but if it's anything like the video games, I shouldn't have much of a problem with it!" I said, hopefully. Thankfully, no one else was on the road. I put the car into drive and pulled the rest of the way out of the driveway, speeding towards Ino's house.

"Holy shit!" Naruto screamed as we flew through the air, ramping off of a small hill, "Remind me never to let you drive again!"

"Shut up, you moron!" I barked at him, jerking the steering wheel and nearly running off the road, hitting another trashcan as I did so.

"That's seven trashcans already, are you sure we should be doing this?!"

"YES! I'm not leaving Ino over there with some psycho killer man trying to bust down her door!"

"You never told me about that!"

My phone buzzed inside my pants.

"Damn it!" I swerved again, hitting a pile of leaves and straw, sending it high into the air.

I answered.

"Ino, I told you, I'm coming!" I said, now driving one-handed.

"How far away are you?" She asked.

"Maybe five minutes. Naruto's house is a straight away from yours, we'll be there . . . soon." I grunted, trying to avoid another obstacle, swerving and driving all over the road. We were going nearly 90 kph.

"You're going to get us killed! Cell phone driver!" Naruto screamed, "I don't wanna die!"

"Is that . . Naruto?" Ino asked.

"Y-Yeah, We're in a car . . That's what all the noise is." I said, trying to keep my cool, managing not to hit Naruto. I thought about it, but then I realized that I'd have to take my other hand off the wheel. That wouldn't end well.

"What?!" Ino yelled.

"Ino, I was so worried, I-"

"Sakura, you're crazy! Get out of the car right now!"

"I can't stop!" I screamed.

"AAH! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Naruto yelled, crying like a baby.

"Shut up, Naruto, you're distracting me from driving!"

"Sakura, please, stop the car!" She pleaded.

"There's no way I'm backing out of this now, Ino. I'm not leaving you there alone!"

Naruto yelped, "Whatever you say Sakura! Just don't get us killed!"

"I don't want you to die, Sakura."

"I'm not gonna die. Look, we're almost there, okay? I want you to come downstairs and wait for me, okay? Please?"

"Okay, Sakura." Ino sniffled, and I heard her running down stairs, quite loudly too.

I began slowing down as Ino's house came into view. We were still a block or two away, but it was clearly visible. I ended up doing a U-Turn and smashing into yet another set of trashcans, but it didn't register in my mind. All I could think of was Ino at that moment.

"Naruto, get in the back." I said, as I saw Ino running to the now beaten car.

He didn't protest. He knew how much I loved her, after all and he knew that I would do the same for him, had this sort of thing happened between him and Lee.

Ino opened the door and sat in the car, slumping back in the seat and clutching her phone to her chest. It was then that I realized that we had never hung up. "Sakura." Ino said, as the car began rolling down the road again. I wasted no time getting her as far away from the house as possible. I was sure she would be relived.

"Hm?" I looked in the rear view mirror to see Naruto staring at me. He looked down and put his mp3 player on, adjusting the head phones in his ears. He always did that when he saw us talking, or really when he saw anyone talking. He nodded his head to the music with his eyes closed.

"Why are you always coming to my rescue?" She asked, looking down.

"Because I owe it to you. You saved me from who I was." I said, managing to keep on the road without too much difficulty.

"How?"

"It's hard to explain." I sped up, debating whether to explain my love to her or not.

"You don't have to tell me."

"Where do you want us to go?" I asked.

"Back to Naruto's, I guess, unless you want to go somewhere else." I saw her lean back out of the corner of my eye.

_'I want to tell her, but not here. Not with Naruto in the car. This isn't the time.'_ I thought. Between Ino and Naruto, I had my reasons for living. If I were to lose one of them somehow or another, I would die inside. I loved them both, in different ways.

"Okay, Naruto's it is then. I can imagine the face on the maid if she finds this care gone. Poor thing, she's going to have to fix all the dents we put in it anyway."

"This is the maid's car?!" Ino yelled, "You're such a juvenile delinquent!"

"So? I told you I would be there, didn't I?" I said, uncaring about the moderate insult, "It's not like I could pick you up on a bike, now could I?"

"I hate it when you're right."

"You did remember to hang up your phone right?" I said.

"Um . . no." She quickly hung it up and put it in her pocket.

"That thing has GPS doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Is that a bad thing?"

"Duh! That means your psycho ex can track you! Quick, turn it off!"

She obeyed, wide-eyed, "So that's how he figured out where I was! That jack-ass must've got my number from someone!"

I sighed, "Who is this guy anyway?"

"Some guy named Shino." She quickly looked down again.

"You dated that bug freak? When?" I felt like crying, but I held it in. Ino was dating boys.

**'You've gone and done it, Sakura. Face it, Ino likes boys. She'll never love you. Never,'** Inner Sakura, as I had come to call her, yelled.

"A couple weeks ago . . . I'm sorry!"

"No, don't be. I'm sorry for asking." I bit my lip, holding in a sob and wiping my eye.

"Sakura, I know I told you, I wasn't going to date any guys after how I learned that Sasuke was a jerk. I'm so sorry!"

"Ino, it doesn't matter. As long as we're friends, you don't have to apologize to me. I'll always be by your side, no matter what happens." I glanced at her. My voice was breaking. I sounded so damn pathetic. She was crying too. Poor girl. Bug boy must've really tore her up.

"Sakura, Sakura! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I never told you anything about this . . . Don't hate me, please." She begged. That was all I heard all the way home. It was enough to make anyone feel like the worst human being on Earth.

I silently pleaded, "Dear God, please don't let me cry in front of her . . . "

We drove back to Naruto's house and went inside. No one saw us, and no one would have done anything anyway, had they seen us. I felt like my chest would cave in. Between the silent sobbing and dry-heaving, I thought I would die. I needed someone to cling to.

Naruto took one look at me and went into his room, grabbing his cold ramen. I guess he just sensed that I wanted to be alone. No such luck with Ino. I wanted to be near her, I knew, but with every hug and embrace, I was met with only misery. She was too lovely to be mine.

"Ino, please." I pleaded, as I lay in the bean-bag chair, Ino on top of me, bawling her eyes out, smearing her mascara all over my neck and collarbone. I prayed that it wasn't waterproof . . and that I could keep myself from making a move.

I couldn't understand anything she was saying. It was almost completely incomprehensible. I loved her so much, it was enough to break me. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. "Sakura!" Ino screamed into the shoulder of my hoodie.

"Ino, I'm sorry." I rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

She clutched me, thrashing and sobbing. I knew my outfit would be ruined, not that I cared anyway. "Sakura-chan . . . Don't leave me, okay?"

"Why would I ever leave you?"

"I don't know . . It's just that everyone else does eventually." She said between sobs, "I mean, my real mom, my friends, everybody except for you hates me on the inside, Sakura!" She clutched me tighter than ever.

"I'm sorry, Ino. I promise, I'll never leave you. Ever." I said, "I'll always be here for you Ino, forever and ever, and I don't care what anyone says." I hugged her tightly against me, so hard that it was a bit hard to breathe.

"Thank you, Sakura!" Ino yelled, pressing into me to the point where I could smell the fragrance of shampoo she washed with and the body spray she frequently used mixing. It was heavenly, any way you looked at it. I felt a smile creep across her lips.

"Ino, why are you still crying?"

"I'm so happy." She raised her head, face streaked with tears and mascara.

I brushed her cheek with my thumb, wiping away a tear.

"Sakura," Ino said, "Only couples wipe tears away from others." She looked giggled.

I blushed, "So? You wouldn't mind it, would you?" I said, hoping I wouldn't screw up the moment.

"Sakura, you're so crazy." Ino smiled, touching our foreheads together.

"You're so cute when you're like this, I just wanna-" I stopped myself.

_'Damn you Ino, I want to hold you and kiss you forever!'_ I thought.

**'Damn you Sakura, you could have!' **My inner self yelled.

_'Shut up, you. I hate it when you're right.'_ I smiled weakly, still looking up at Ino.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino asked.

I took a deep breath, "This." I pressed our lips together softly. I pulled away a second later breathing hard, anticipating what would happen next. I crossed my fingers at my sides.

"S-Sakura." Ino whispered.

**'Big mistake.' **

"I-I'm sorry. Don't hate me." I looked away, waiting to get slapped. Naruto was standing in the doorway, just as dumbfounded as Ino looked.

"So that's what you wanted." Ino mumbled, frozen in place, straddling me.

"Ino-chan," I trailed off.

"Sakura, look at me."

I turned my head. Ino was close. Our lips brushed. "Don't do this to me, I love you too much."

"Sakura, I don't know about what just happened, but I could never hate you, not after all we've been through."

**End Chapter**

* * *

I know, the stuff near the end was a little iffy. I rushed it. Sorry, but I really wanted to finish it because it was getting on my nerves. Prepare for a small time skip in the next chapter. It's only a few hours, but that counts, right? It's three in the morning here, I'll just stop the presses for a while now.


	5. Ice Cream

Finally, I'm back from that little excursion I went off on last night, lol. As I write this, I'm listening to a lot of emo songs, so don't be surprised if it comes out sad and emotional. That's not so bad though is it? Prepare yourself for some serious angst! . . . or fluff. I don't know, maybe both, since I'm just going to write it as I go.

Yes, the beginning is one of those cliché 'ice cream' sharing things, I know, but hey, at least I took the time to put the plot together on my own. The entrance of Kiba was inspired by a friendship fic I read a while back about Ino and Sakura eating ice cream, I just took it in my own, slightly different direction. The outcome is fairly close to the same, with the exception that it is a flash back.

Note: Flashbacks are ALWAYS in italics.

Also, I quoted Yoshiyuki Ly and sorta edited it because there were a couple spelling mistakes and such and it wasn't quite exactly what I had in mind for Sakura's dreamy-thought stuff. You'll get it later . . . don't hate me

* * *

"You're so cute when you make that face!" Ino said, giggling.

I huffed, "Shut up. You know I hate that."

"That makes it even better, Saku-chan. You know I love teasing you." She brushed a hair out of her face and slurped on her straw.

"I know. That makes it even worse." I sighed, sitting my empty milkshake cup down on the table. We had decided to go eat lunch at the park.

"You're such a pessimist, Sakura. You know that?"

"Oh really?" I said, crossing my arms.

Ino went quiet, looking the other way.

"What's wrong?"

"Jackass," Ino said, sounding annoyed and disinterested.

"What did I do?!"

Ino took a sip of her milkshake, "You know what you did."

"Whatever." I sighed, "I'm getting an ice cream. You want one?"

"Sure. This milkshake sucks anyway." She tossed the cup into the trash and got up to go with me.

I went up to the stand with Ino in tow, nervous, as I could feel her eyes on me. I had been thinking about her lately . . a lot, and I couldn't deny that I had fallen for her, even if I had wanted to. She was . . . sexy. The way she looked at me never failed to send shivers down my spine. Ino was intoxication at its finest.

I was snapped back to reality by the sound of Ino's voice calling my name. "Sakura, are you going to order or what?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, um, just give me a strawberry double scoop in a waffle cone . . ehe," I grinned sheepishly, biting my lip nervously.

"So, one vanilla and one strawberry?" The man asked, "That will be 300 yen please," He said, calmly scooping the creamy soft-serve and piling it onto the cones.

I grabbed my wallet and began yen, "Okay, so . . . 50, 50, 50 . . 100 . . 50 . . . Ack! I don't have enough!" I yelped, flipping faster through my yen, as if that would do me any good, "Er, sir, I'm sorry, uh, I don't want mine, we'll share one ice cream." I said shakily.

"No, I'll pay for it Saku-" Ino started, only to be interrupted.

"No, no, no, don't worry. It's on the house girls. You starving teenagers are the reason we're still open!" he said, smiling gingerly, handing us the ice cream and assuring us that it was indeed fine that we took it. He was truly a kind man.

"Thanks mister!" We said in unison, trotting off to a park bench and proceeding to lick the soft, creamy treats.

I lapped at the substance in my cone a time or two, squinting at the taste. It didn't taste as good as it should have. It tasted different. Not bad, and not good either. I could taste the tang of the strawberry flavor on my tongue, but none of the sweetness. It was just a bland, flat flavor. I hated it, like I hated myself.

Ino was so unique, so vibrant. She always knew what to do, what to say, and how to say it. We were total opposites. It was fitting that the flavors we chose were so different.

I couldn't help but to stare at her as her tongue passed over the frozen mounds, entranced. It was almost seductive in a way. The way she softly flicked her tongue across those delectable expanses melting what remnants of logic and sanity I had left, only to have her voice freeze it all back into place again.

"Sakura, you're not eating much of yours . . . Are you okay?" Ino said, close to finishing hers.

"Hnn?" I pretended that her interruption hadn't absolutely shattered my train of thought again, leaving me to throw up my wall of defenses. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

I'm pretty sure my eyes told otherwise. They always betrayed me. They definitely did. Ino said, "You sure? You looked like you were spacing out . . . and . . There's ice cream dripping down your hand. You want mine or something?"

My face flushed a deep red. I could feel it. I could literally feel the blood pulsing through it.

"Um, I-"

"Here, take it," she said, passing her ice cream over to me, which I hadn't expected at all. I obeyed, passing her my own and taking her cone in my fumbling fingers. My face felt hot, hot like it feels when you put your hand over the stove. How I didn't drop it, I will probably never know.

"Are you sure? This is your favorite flavor," I asked, voice shaking.

"Well, you can't let good ice cream go to waste, right?"

"Um, I guess."

I stared at the cone in my hand, already lightly dripping, the grooves from Ino's previous licking still present. '_Well, Ino did give me this . . . I guess I should . . lick it,' _I thought, _'But what if she's staring at me?'_

I inhaled the vanilla flavor, taking a deep breath, and licked the sticky mound. Her saliva was still coating it lightly, leaving a light trail from the cone to my tongue with each stroke of my tongue. It tasted of ramen and lip gloss.

I wondered if she planned for it to turn out like this, toying with the idea in my head, not noticing my eyes begin to glaze over. It was pure ecstasy, the more I thought of it in my mind, but I knew that it wouldn't last long. Alas, ecstasy only lasts so long, and then it's gone.

"Um, Sakura? You look kinda high. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Haha, I'm all good. Don't worry," I murmured between licks, "This is great."

"I was just about to say the same thing."

"You actually _like _that?" I said, coming back to my senses momentarily, "You've got to be joking."

"It reminds me of when me and you were kids and we used to get free ice cream here. Remember? Last time that stupid dog-boy showed up." She looked annoyed, but gave a smile anyway.

I recalled the memory, not fogged in the slightest by time. I smiled bitterly. This wasn't the only time we had shared ice cream together, far from it, in fact. "Ino, that was years ago."

* * *

**- Flashback -**

_It was a sunny day, not sweltering, but hot none the less. Ino and I were eating ice cream in this very spot, giggling about what had happened at school that day. It was a typical school day, with no Sasuke to speak of and it was good._

_Ino said, "Sakura, your ice cream is dripping."_

"_Hnn?" I mumbled, glancing down at my hand, "Oh."_

"_Are you okay?" She asked, watching me lick myself and giggling._

_We started eating our ice cream again when Ino suddenly stood and stretched. Then, out of the middle of nowhere, Kiba showed up, running full speed. Needless to say, Ino was bowled over, and her beloved vanilla ice cream was mashed into the sidewalk._

"_Sorry!" Kiba had yelled, turning pink and dashing away, followed by Shino, Hinata, and a small mob, nearly all of them trampling the ice cream cone, save for Hinata, who took care to avoid it, blushing fiercely and asking where Kiba had gone off to._

_I helped Ino up when she left. "Stupid Kiba, what a jerk! Stupid stinky dog-boy." I said, furious._

"_Yeah, and look at my ice cream!" She pouted, pointing at the pathetic mess on the ground._

"_It's okay, we can share mine . . I mean, if you want." I looked at my feet, holding out the cone to her. I still wasn't all that brave, so it was rather uncharacteristic of me, not to mention accompanied several deep blushes._

"_Okay," Ino said, cheerily taking a seat on the bench, pulling me down with her._

_I held the cone out to her blushing like mad. I didn't even notice when she had taken it and passed it back again, until she snapped me out of it._

"_Your turn, Saku-chan." Ino said, giving me the strawberry flavored treat, covered in small grooves, from where she had licked._

_We ended up picking sides, sitting with our faces mere inches from each other, the only thing separating us being the sugary ice cream, which was slowly vanishing. Bit by bit, we pressed our tongues against the sides of it, twisting it round and round like some kind of can opener with our fingers. We didn't talk, with the exception of a giggle or two. After all, that was enough for us._

_Then the moment finally came when the ice cream was nearly gone, and we were forcing our tongues deeper into the cone, occasionally bumping noses as we shoveled the melty goodness into our mouths, when suddenly, our tongues brushed and we pulled away, blushing at least ten different shades of red._

"_Saku-chan?"_

"_Hnn?"_

"_What just happened?" She asked, still blushing deeply._

_I bit my lip, "I . . don't know."_

**- End Flashback -**

* * *

We finished our ice cream and left the park. I still had that flashback on my mind though. _How could I have forgotten it for this long?_ I didn't want to know the answer.

Ino and I walked back to her house, almost totally silent the whole way. It was getting around Christmas time, and the seasons were just now starting to change. Holiday break was just around the corner. I couldn't be any more depressed, unless of course Ino and I stopped being friends again. Ino had yet another boyfriend, and I was being increasingly left out, as they got closer. I kept telling her that he only wanted her for her body, which was true, but she never believed me, just like she never believed anyone else.

I could only be happy that I had the opportunity to be next to her, to breath her air, share her bed, to let her borrow my clothes, and even to have her try to make me wear hers. I needed her, just like I always had, if not more than I used to.

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Ino asked, looking worried.

I blushed, "I've told you a thousand times, I'm find. You sound like some kind of psychologist when you ask me that." I said, laughing grimly.

"At least I care." She crossed her arms, walking in front of me. I secretly thanked her for it, because it meant I didn't constantly have to watch where my eyes were roaming.

"I guess you're right."

"You're such a pessimist."

"You told me that once already." I said, making faces, even though I knew she couldn't see them.

"It's true." She said.

"Damn right."

That night, we clambered into her bed as usual, her on the side by the wall, and me on the side next to the night stand. As I expected, Ino was fast asleep within minutes. It was no wonder, she was always running around and tiring herself out.

_She's so cute when she's sleeping._ I thought.

No doubt, Ino was beautiful. If only she knew how much I loved her, wanted her, _needed_ her. She was the only thought in my head. I silently cried myself to sleep yet again, shivering in her sleeping arms until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

_Glossing my lips over your body,_

_Hearing you sigh and shiver,_

_Memorizing your every perfect imperfection -_

_Indescribable._

_What I feel for you is so powerful -_

_Warmth, ardor, zeal -_

_You do this, give this; make this of me_

_So far, only in the sanctity of my dreams . . . _

**End Chapter**

* * *

Eh, sorry for not updating too fast. This was hell to write. Sorry about the length as well, I'm trying to learn to be more concise with my writing for when I get back to school. I hear highschool literature is hell also. Reviews would be greatly appreciated!


	6. Snow and Sake

Yay! Update!

I hope this modest offering of a chapter will satisfy you guys (and girls). Enjoy! It is long and full of horrible metaphors and yuri goodness! This is one of my first attempts at romantic dialogue and drama. Light implication of one-sided SasuNaru.

This is 12 pages long in open office. You'd better be appreciative, haha . . . not. I really don't care, as long as somebody enjoys this, I'm happy. I'd be way happier if you'd review though.

Also, major timeskip! And the story begins!

* * *

Today was not my day, my week, or even my year. Everything just seemed to go wrong, no matter what it was. I couldn't do anything right, and I couldn't get anything done in the first place. I just wanted to die, and I tried several times, but I couldn't even do that right. I took all the steps a suicidal maniac would beforehand, even going as far as writing a will and a suicide note, but in the end, I just couldn't do it.

I would think of Ino's pretty face and those pink lips of hers. Those same lips that had brought me to my knees when they brushed his. It hurt so bad to see her with him, the boy whom she thought to be a man, who abused her and threw her away, only to pull her again from the rubbish which he condemned her to lay with. I was losing my reason for living bit by bit, slowly but surely, with each touch and sound.

I no longer despised Sasuke. It wasn't his fault that half of the female population on the planet would drop dead if he gave them the word. He was just like me, young, depressed, and in love with someone completely oblivious to his feelings. The only difference was his popularity with the girls. Sasuke was simply a boy, lost in his own little world, searching for his lost fox.

"Naruto, I don't know what to do anymore. It's like she purposefully teases me, parading that asshole around like he's some kind of prince. It's like she doesn't even care about how I feel," I cried, burying my head into Naruto's old, rusty-orange jacket and hugging him tightly. We had been like this for a while, bawling our eyes out.

Naruto sniffled and patted my back, sobbing into my shoulder about Lee chasing after me instead of him. I felt deeply sorry for him, having to deal with both of our problems at the same time. I poured my misery upon him, trusted him with my secrets, for they were my water, and he was my sponge, with which I would absorb my pains.

"I just want to die, and no matter how hard I try, I can't even get that right! I wish my gigantic-ass forehead would just fucking cave in so I could take my brain and rip it out!" I screamed, clutching Naruto's tattered orange jacket as if it were my sole lifeline.

Naruto froze, "Sakura. Please, don't tell me you want to die and that you have nothing to live for. You don't have the right to say that until you at least try to tell her how you feel! Think about me. All I have is those pathetic excuses for _guardians, _you, and that maid. I don't even have real parents, Sakura! How do you think that feels?"

"Bad." I said, eyes down cast.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just don't know what I would do without you."

"I understand, but . . Sometimes, I just don't think I can bear it anymore." I said, still staring at the floor of Naruto's room.

"It's okay, everyone feels like that some time or another in their life. Just please don't kill yourself on me, Sakura, because I'll die on the inside when you're gone." Naruto said, smiling weakly. Poor guy.

"Okay." I glanced at the clock, "Shimatta! I'm sorry Naruto, I have to leave! I'm supposed to be at Ino's house in half an hour!" I said, giving him one last hug before leaping from my seat.

"Wait! Take my bike or you'll never get there on time!" Naruto yelled at me.

"You sure? You might not see it again." I said nonchalantly.

He laughed, "For all I care, you can have it. It's actually my step-mom's."

"Okay, thanks Naruto!" I yelled over my shoulder as I sprinted away. Once I was outside, I hastily grabbed the bicycle and sped off on it, pedaling as fast as my wimpy legs would let me. It took me about twenty minutes of solid pedaling. Luckily, it was mostly downhill and before I knew it, I was turning into the driveway of the Yamanaka mansion. I tossed the bike to the side and ran up to the door, jabbing the doorbell a couple times before running my fingers through my hair and popping a piece of gum into my mouth.

"What's up, Sakura?" Ino said, opening the door and flinging her arms around me.

"The sky," I replied, deadpanning, "You know I hate when you ask that."

"I see. Not feeling very talkative today, are we Saku?"

"You said the same exact thing yesterday." I mumbled.

I felt Ino smile into the shoulder of my hoodie and release me from her embrace, grinning. "Come on Saku-chan, let's go up stairs."

Minutes later, we were sitting on her bed together, swinging our feet while we talked about our day, Ino smiling and laughing while I fought back the urge to cry and tell her about all the things I felt inside. All I wanted was to let her know that she was the one I loved, the one I wanted to hold forever and ever.

"Sakura, are you alright? You look pale." Ino gave me the usual once over, a slight frown on her face.

**This is your chance, Sakura. You know how it always goes in the movies, so TELL HER ALREADY! **My inner self ordered like always, only increasing my anxiety.

_Damn, here we go again, _I thought to myself, silently condemning the screeching moron inside my head, begging it to leave me the hell alone.

"I'm fine, I – I'm just not feeling so great today," I said, only partially lying, fully knowing what question came next. "Really, there's no need to worry about me."

"Come on Sakura, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything," Ino asked, turning to face me. I looked down. I couldn't bear to let my eyes meet hers, but I knew that her worried gaze was fixed on me, those cerulean orbs jabbing me like the sticks of timid children, dared to poke at a dead animal lying in the street.

"I can't tell you, Ino," I said, my voice retaining its firmness, "Not this."

"Why?" The tone of her voice changed, an undertone of hurt just beneath the surface.

I sighed, "I just can't. You would hate me for it."

"Sakura . . . I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, I could never hate you. Tell me what's wrong," She nearly pleaded. I glanced at her and looked away, biting my lip. There was no way I was telling her, no matter how much she begged. I resolved not to.

"Ino, I said I can't."

"Can you atleast tell me what it's about?"

"It's about someone," I said, being as vague as possible.

"That's a lot of information," Ino said.

"That was the point. I said I couldn't tell you, didn't I?" I asked, deadpanning.

"That was mean, that's what it was," Ino pouted, making the most pathetic puppy dog face I had ever seen in my life.

I sighed for a second time, "Come on, don't do this to me. Look, I'll tell you if you stop, okay?"

I looked away again, wincing. Times like these are what make me wish that I wasn't quite so agreeable. I just _had _to say that, even though I'd promised myself I wouldn't give in. Love and friendship be damned, either way, I always would get the short end of the stick.

I tried formulating a plan of how to get out of actually telling her. The best I could come up with was that I would tell her later. After all, I never did mention _when _I'd tell her anyway. Satisfied with my idea, I nodded to myself in approval.

"What're you waiting for? Tell me already, you promised you would!" Ino said, now mere inches from my face.

"Why are you so close to my face?!" I stammered, completely ignoring her question.

"Why does it matter?" She asked coolly, oblivious to the fact that I was about to have a mental meltdown from being within less than two feet of her, and to top that off, it wasn't just normal close either, it was _kissing _close. If I so much as sneezed, our lips would be just as messily plastered together as the paper in those fifth grade models you see at the science fairs.

"Just . . shut up!" I felt an even deeper flush spreading across my cheeks. My face was hot, hotter than ever, and I hated it. I hated letting people see my embarrassment, my feelings . . . Ugh. I sighed in frustration.

"Oh come on, you promised me," Ino frowned, making one of her signature faces. I couldn't help but think of how cute she looked when she pouted like that. What am I saying, hell, she always looked cute, no matter what she did.

"I never said when though! God, you're so impatient!" I said, constantly reminding myself not to yell, since I had a bit of a habit of it, what with Naruto and his rap music. He always blasted that stuff every chance he got. That damned Soulja Boy wannabe. At least it provided a good cover up, however, I mused.

Ino's frown deepened, then softened into a light grin, "Saku-chan, you're no fun . . But, I have an idea!"

I watched as she perked up instantly, "Hnn?" I too, perked up. _What could it be? New clothes? . . Knowing Ino, probably . . Eh, well, hopefully, I won't be the one playing dress up, _I thought.

"I'll be right back!" Ino said, sounding chipper and dashing off excitedly. I had a bad feeling about what was to come, yet I smiled anyway. After all, whatever she was going to get surely had to be fun and exciting. My train of thought was interrupted when Ino returned, minutes later, holding an object behind her back.

"Whatcha got?" I asked, anxious to see.

She held up a bottle, "This. Isn't it great?"

"Sake?! Where in the hell did you get Sake?!" I yelled.

"Shh! Quiet!" Ino glanced around, "I took it out of my parents' room while they weren't looking. They'll kill me if they find out!"

"And you somehow expect me to drink that stuff?" I asked, annoyed that she would even make the attempt of getting me to drink _that. _She knew I was sober . . I sighed. This was definitely not going to end well.

"Aww, come on Saku, this could be your last chance to enjoy life!" Ino said, waving the bottle up and down with frequent hand gestures. I noticed that she also had one small glass, along with the bottle. I had no doubts that we would soon be spilling alcohol everywhere if I ended up accepting her offer, however, I gave a small chuckle at the thought of us, giggling like those teenage girls you see in those mainstream animes you see on TV, covering each other in alcohol and clumsily running into walls, doorways and whatnot.

"Me? Enjoy life? I've never heard of such nonsense! How will alcohol help me solve any of my problems?" I ask, half seriously, considering actually trying the stuff. Maybe getting drunk _could _help me after all. Besides, she'd probably be just as drunk as I was, or so I thought.

I agreed to give the sake a try. Alcohol never really fucked anyone up, right? . . Wrong. By the time I was through with my second shot, I could have puked. The stuff tasted vile, like drinking liquid fire. I hated it. The only thing keeping that little glass moving up to my mouth was the fact that Ino was drinking from it as well. I never really realized until now, but Ino was considerably better than me at holding her liquor, not much better, but like I said, _considerably_. It was enough to be noticed.

Half an hour and a couple shots of sake later, we're both very tipsy, caught in the middle of one very interesting truth or dare game. I glanced over at her. Her eyes were slightly glazed over. She already looked like she was about to fall off the bed.

"Saku-chaaan . . Your turn," She slurred, drawing circles in the air with her fingers.

"My turn? . . To what?" I asked, struggling with my words and taking another shot of the fiery drink.

"Truth or dare, dumb ass," Ino said matter-of-factly.

I stifled a giggle and said, "Truth."

"Saku-chan, you're such a chicken . . but I guess I should go ahead and ask the question . . right?"

"Yeah . . . um, Ino?" I paused, glancing between the cieling and her, a contorted expression on my face, "Why do you keep worms on your ceiling?" I frowned, "I hate worms."

"Worms?! Oh my God!" she shrieked, making me immediately cringe and regret ever mentioning it.

"Woah, chill out . . You're like, really loud . . . So uh, Ino, can I ask you my question?" I said, half sober, mainly because I was pretending to drink the stuff, not just because I was a wimp, but because I knew Ino would never notice anyway, now that she was drunk. I passed the full glass over to her, knowing that she would probably think I poured it for her, instead of simply swishing it around in my mouth and spitting it back out again.

Okay, so maybe that was a bit mean, but I was already tipsy, so why get even more drunk when I could just pour my share of it down her throat. Sure, it had my spit in it, but if what they say at school is true, ('If you share a drink with someone, it's like making out with them!') then it's all good. I've wanted to touch her, be near her, kiss her, love her, in any way I possibly could since I can remember, really and if swapping spit with her is as close as I can get to true happiness, I'll take that opportunity, every chance I get. Now that I think about it, this sake stuff probably really was a good idea . . but that could just be the sake talking.

"Saku-chan are you listening to me?" Ino said, sounding even more drunk than she had before, if that were possible.

"Hnn? . . Yeah, I guess so," I said, draping my legs over the edge of her bed and flopping down into the soft comforter. "Mm, your bed is soooo soft!" I exclaimed.

Ignoring my comment, Ino asked, "Saku-chan? Who was your first kiss?," She plopped down next to me, sitting the sake bottle down on the nightstand and taking another shot. She added, "And old people don't count!"

"What? . . Nobody, I guess, Ino-chan, unless you count that time when me and you were at Naruto's house, but that was totally innocent . . right?" I asked, frowning and trying to wipe the smell of sake from my lips.

"You never kissed anybody else, ever? Why not?" She asked. Leave it to Ino to answer a question with a question . . . and a hard one to answer at that.

I could've sworn she sounded excited. Pfft, I wish. The only things Ino ever got excited about when she was drunk were bugs, shopping, or more liquor. I sighed inwardly. _Will I ever manage to confess my love to her? Ever? _I wondered.

"I've been saving up for somebody, in a way." I said truthfully, hoping she might take the near non-existent hint I gave.

"Who?" She asked, flipping over to face me. Her hair went into my face in the process, causing me to blush even more than the question itself.

**This is your chance! This makes twice in a row now! Take it before it's gone!!! **My inner self screamed, making my drunken head pound harder than it had before.

_I swear, I'm killing you if you make me screw this up, _I thought, cursing that pathetic excuse for a conscience, when Naruto's words from before came to me.

* * *

**Flashback**

"_Sakura. Please, don't tell me you want to die and that you have nothing to live for. You don't have the right to say that until you at least try to tell her how you feel!" _

**/Flashback**

* * *

"I – I . . Uh, it's . . it's . . ." I trailed off embarrassedly.

"Come on, forehead, you can tell me," she coaxed.

"Ino-chan," I took a deep breath, knowing that what I was about to say would change our relationships forever. There was no way I'd be saying this right now, if not for the liquid courage coursing through my veins. "Please don't hate me for this, please . . Ino, I'm begging you. I've wanted to tell you this for a really long time now. Please don't hate me, or I'll die inside, more than I already have. I – I think I love you, Ino-chan. I love you so much, I can't bear to lose you, even if we're too young to really know what love is . . . No matter what, I always want to be with you."

"Sakura . . ." Ino whispered, mouth hanging half open.

_This is bad, very bad. Shit! Stupid Naruto! Damn you! Now she's going to tell the whole damned school about me being some crazy lesbian rapist stalker person! She hates me, I know she does, _I thought, chewing my lip and trying to hold back my tears. No way was I going to cry in front of her, not after what I just said.

"Don't hate me," I said, sounding just as helpless and alone as I had in the days when we were younger; the days when I used to sit under that damned cherry tree, when she found me.

"Sakura, I could never hate you. I've told you that once already today," Ino said, frowning slightly. I had never seen her so serious, with such fire in her eyes, not while she was intoxicated, at least. "Why didn't you tell me?!" She asked, half wailing, as the glass she tossed away hit the ground, doubtlessly shattering into thousands of tiny pieces as it crashed against the wooden paneling of her floor.

I said nothing, how could I? I knew it would simply be shot down anyway. She wasn't done talking, and whenever Ino was drunk, I knew damn well not to interrupt her while she was talking. It was simply something you just didn't do, or if you did, your ass got slapped into the middle of the Chinese New Year . . or something like that.

"Sakura, how could you? I thought you said we could tell each other anything! Didn't that mean anything at all to you?!"

"Ino, look, would you tell your best friend in the whole universe you loved them if you thought they were straight? If you knew deep down in your heart that you could never have them and they'd never want to see you again if they knew? Would you?" I paused, wiping away a tear, "You meant everything to me. I never wanted to lose you, not because of some stupid fucking love interest, not because of anything. Don't you understand?"

Ino sighed, blowing strands of hair from her face, "I . . I don't know what to say. Look at me, Sakura, I'm drunk, the ceiling is spinning, and I need some time to think about this, okay? I think I understand, but I don't know if I can take this right now. If there's one thing I do know though, it's that no matter what you do, Saku, I can never hate you. Never."

Ino sat up and looked down at me with her characteristic smile and twirled one of my pink locks reassuringly, all signs of being frustrated having been gone by now. If I didn't think I was going to puke at any moment, I would've tried to reciprocate somehow. I felt like my stomach was busy knitting sweaters in my torso and believe me, that wasn't a good feeling.

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to clean up all that glass over there now?" I asked, relieved that Ino and I were still on good terms. My head was still spinning from the alcohol, giving me a massive headache.

"Shit! I forgot all about that!" Ino said, leaping up and looking around the floor, stumbling as she did so. I could've sworn that she was trying to do the moonwalk too, but that could've been just because of the fact that the room looked like some kind of hurling spaceship, and with the addition of Ino falling all over the place in the middle of it all, it was making me quite queasy as I stood up and followed after her.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," I muttered after we had ran into her bookcase for the fifth time.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna puke. Ugh, I hate puking."

"Okay, you open the door, and I'll drag you into the bathroom . . kay?" I grimaced, pulling us up from the newly waxed floor and bracing myself against the wall. Who knew a little sake could debilitate a person so much?

Ino groaned, "Fine with me, just don't throw up, or Imma kick your scrawny little butt," she finished with a burp.

"Is that a threat?" I asked.

"Um . . no."

"Good," I said, "Because if it was, I'd just drop your ass right here."

"Damn, you sure are bitchy, Sakura. You sure you're drunk?" Ino said, pulling against the door with all her might, which didn't amount to much, really.

"Yes . . and . . Um, you're supposed to turn the knob, Ino."

"Oh," she said stupidly, turning the knob and opening the door with minimal effort. "Now that I think about it, that was actually kind of easy, I guess. Saku-chan, you're a genius!"

"No, I'm just not _that _drunk, Ino pig. You hogged all the sake up!" I said, starting to laugh hysterically and succeeding in making a fool out of myself.

Ino frowned, "How in the hell is that funny?"

"Um, I don't know, actually." I sighed.

"Weirdo."

"Shut up," I said, dragging her along.

In reality, the bathroom was only about a thirty second walk from Ino's bedroom, but it seemed like an eternity of giant heaving floorboards, hurling picture frames and carsick doorways until we finally got there. I couldn't have been more relieved, or disgusted, when we arrived. The latter feeling being triggered by the sight of Ino losing her lunch over in the toilet bowl repeatedly and the former by the fact that I was able to get rid of the churning feeling in my stomach with a few burps.

Five minutes later, Ino and I were back in her bedroom, lazing about on her bed. Thank God she managed to get that horrible stench out of her mouth. I hate the smell of vomit. Just the thought of it is revolting enough to make me want to puke. Aside from that, we swept the glass fragments under her bed with an old sneaker. It was temporary, supposedly.

"Ino-chan, my head hurts," I mumbled as we cuddled, trying to get to sleep.

She sighed, "What do you want me to do about it? Kiss it and make it better?"

"Actually, yes . . . but not on the forehead!"

"Why not? It'll be the easiest target to hit, I mean, you know, it's just so big. It'd be hard to miss!"

"Shut up, Ino." I sighed, not liking the forehead joke.

"Oh come on, you practically set yourself up for it . . What, you want me to kiss you on the lips?" She asked, grinning.

"I think we both know the answer to that." I said, blushing.

"Fine, Saku-chan, but just this once. Okay?" She said, eyes slightly widened. I couldn't believe what was happening. She was actually going to let me kiss her, after all these years. I silently prayed that it wasn't just the liquor talking, begging every deity I could think of to make this moment real.

I nodded quickly, not wanting to ruin any of my chances. I looked into her eyes as she slowly leaned in, the lidded orbs slowly disappearing from my view as we drew closer, lips mere centimeters from each other. It was as if time stood still when our lips met. I can't describe the feeling. It was great. Her lips were so soft, so gentle, unlike anything I'd ever known. It was truly heaven on earth.

Alas, all good things come to an end, as did our rather chaste exchange, and for the rest of the evening, neither of us said a word, up until it was time to go to bed. We had no need for such trivial things. Language was useless in such situations. Why use words when we could talk with our bodies all night long anyway? Too bad that we didn't say much before she passed out in the comforter, minutes later, leaving me to try and find sleep in her arms.

* * *

The next morning, I awoke to find myself still encased in Ino's arms, head pounding, muscles aching. It was definitely not a good morning. The sun was evidently beginning to peek over the horizon, as there was a slight yellowish light played about the room. _Great . . . I wake up and it's not even nine o'clock yet. How wonderful, _I thought, cursing the sun for choosing to rise in the sky at such an hour.

I sighed, now committing myself solely to keeping the light out of my eyes and being still. I wanted to savor as much contact with Ino as possible. Then I remembered the night before. I had confessed to her and she had kissed me! Would she remember? I wasn't sure. I remembered how drunk we were. It seemed nearly impossible to even think that we were capable of speaking coherently, considering that we couldn't even walk upright for more than ten seconds at a time.

"You're awake," Ino said tiredly, startling me and ending my thought process.

"Yeah. So what?"

I stretched slightly, causing Ino to grip me tighter. Evidently, she really didn't want me to move, most likely because it was nearly as cold in here as it was outside. In fact, it was cold enough for Ino's window to ice over. The air was so frigid, I could've sworn that my eyes were going to freeze open. It's a good thing they didn't. I don't think I'd be able to cope too well with being blind.

"It's cold in here." Ino murmured pathetically.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I said, quirking an eyebrow as I lay beside her lazily.

She sighed, "You're supposed to warm me up, you retard. Don't you ever watch TV?"

"Um . . no," I answered, slightly ashamed. The last time I saw a television outside of a shop window, it was in the process of soaring over my head and crashing into the wall after it magically unbolted itself from the wall and flew at me . . or so my father said. Needless to say, that was the last Super bowl we ever got to watch at my house. I grimaced at the thought of seeing another one of those hell-spawn flying menacingly, aimed in my general direction.

"Sakura, are you okay? . . . Saku-chan?" Ino said, finally managing to bring me out of my state of reminiscence, thankfully. She shook me, as if to emphasize that she cared.

"Hnn? . . Oh, yeah, sorry, I spaced out." I said, sighing for the fifth time in a row.

"You do that a lot . . So, what's up?" She asked, sounding like she had been up for a while.

I shrugged and started to point upwards, but immediately retracted my hand back into the safety of the blankets. "Holy shit! It's cold as fuck in your room!"

"Really? I never noticed!" Ino said sarcastically, gesturing at the ice on her window, "I totally don't have goosebumps all over me!"

"Um . . what?"

"I'm being sarcastic, which means I meant the exact opposite of what I said. Geez, Sakura, what have you been doing all your life, living under a rock?"

"I guess. Shouldn't we be getting up now?"

"No way, it's too cold! Snuggle me before I freeze to death, Saku-chan!" she pleaded, squeezing me even tighter than before.

"You've got to be kidding me." I said, pushing against her shoulders lightly, "I'd prefer to remain a non-conjoined being."

Ino sighed, "Come on Sakura, you know you want to."

"Well, whatever . . At least I'll know that I'm not going to be alone in my ice block," I replied, sighing apathetically as I was defeated. I wrapped my arms around her frame and pulled her close, once again savoring the contact between us.

"Mm, Saku-chan, you're warm." Ino mumbled, running her left hand through my ruffled hair playfully.

I blushed. Usually, this situation would be the other way around, me playing in her hair and her pressing her face into my body, not me being pressed into her body. It was especially awkward since I was freakishly tall and thin. My feet were only about half a foot from hanging off her bed, which strangely was the same one she had had since elementary school. Despite my slight discomfort, I didn't move away, after all, she was pretty much my only sanctuary from the cold. Covers can only keep one so warm. I sighed contently, nuzzling her lovingly.

"You're not going to sleep up there are you?" Ino asked.

"No. I just woke up ten minutes ago. Why would I go to sleep that soon?"

She shrugged, "No reason I guess . . it's just that last time you did that you were falling asleep on me."

"Oh."

"I'm hungry." She said, minutes later.

"Same. Wanna go get some food?"

"Only if you come with me," she said, starting to peel back the covers bit by bit.

"Why wouldn't I?" I said, throwing the covers off both of us and leaping from the bed. Ino followed reluctantly, shivering and complaining about freezing her ass off during the entire time we spent walking down the the second floor, where the kitchen was. Luckily, it wasn't quite as cold there, and there was already food set out. It was some kind of oat meal.

We shared the bowl, glad that we didn't have to actually fix anything four ourselves at this time of morning. You'd think that they'd have fancier food at such a nice house, but apparently not. Now that I think about it, Ino's parents were always sorta tight wads . . . Either way, we finished eating the rather meager food, which was thankfully warm. I glanced at Ino, who was still perched atop the stool beside me, drumming her fingers on the marble counter. She was beautiful. I had no idea what I would do without her.

We went back upstairs and climbed back onto her bed, still dressed in the same clothes as we were the night before and just as sleepy. I yawned, taking my respective side next to her, and fell asleep in her arms for a second time that day, woke up again, and finally left, but not without saying good bye of course.

* * *

"I'll miss you, Saku-chan!" Ino said, the sound muffled by the shoulder my wrinkled hoodie, which I could've sworn she was sniffing me the entire time we hugged. We were standing in her yard, letting the snow fall on us.

"I'll miss you too," I said, giving her a reassuring squeeze, "I can come back again tonight or tomorrow if you want, I mean, I wouldn't want to impose or anything, but seriously, I need to take a shower and change out of these clothes."

"That would be great! I don't have any plans tonight or tomorrow, so you can come whenever you want. Call me when you're on the way, kay? I'll leave the door unlocked, if you want." She said, brushing fresh snow out of her hair and returning my previous squeeze.

I smiled, "Okay, no problem. I'll probably be here around eleven or so. My parents wake up at about twelve, and you know how they are . . . Anyways, you have any ideas for what we could do?"

"Hmm . . . Well, we could break out the sake again, if it's cool with you, but that gets old fast. Maybe we could invite Hinata or someone else over."

"Sounds good to me. You want me to call her for you?"

"Nah, I'll handle that . . Oh, and Saku, before you go, I have something to give you." She smirked. I felt it.

"A present? Am I really that important?" I asked semi-sarcastically.

She laughed and withdrew from our hug, "Just close your eyes and bend over a little."

"You're not going to write something on my forehead, are you?" I said, crossing my arms, trying to keep from freezing. I missed her warmth the second she let go of me.

"No, I'm not going to write on your forehead, Sakura. Just do it, dammit," she said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Fine, but you better not try anything, or I swear . . " I said, trailing off as I closed my eyes and bent over slightly, just enough to put the top of my head around the level of her eyes.

No response.

"At least tell me what it is!" I yelled, trying be still. The suspense was killing me, even more so when I heard Ino's delicate footsteps crunching the snow in front of me and her breath lightly blowing on my face. My heart pulsed rapidly, to the point where I was starting to get lightheaded. _Dammit, Ino, you always know how to drive a girl crazy!_

"This," Ino said, as if it was all very simple. She put her hands on my shoulders to brace herself and I felt her lips against my forehead, the lip gloss she wore leaving a sticky residue behind where her lips had once been.

I froze. "Ino, what the hell?" I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper.

"A big big forehead deserves a big kiss, Saku-chan," She said. "Ja ne! See you tomorrow," and then she was gone, leaving me standing in the snow, cold and alone.

"Ja ne." I whispered to the wind, staring down at the footprints that Ino left behind. _I wonder what she's getting at, _I thought, _Kissing me on the forehead like that . . What nerve, but hey, a kiss is a kiss . . _I sighed inwardly, _. _I walked to where Naruto's bike was thrown down and set it upright, dusting snow off the seat and hopping on. It was going to be a long, cold ride.

* * *

**A/N: **So, did every one enjoy this chapter? I know, it was kinda dull, but I had to get this finished and make everything a little less one-sided. I know, Ino was drunk when Sakura confessed, but if I didn't make it happen right now, it probably never would, and the story would be full of endless Sasuke hating and sappy metaphors about how truly pathetic our dear Sakura truly is.

**R&R please!**


	7. The World's Greatest Pillow

Yay! Update! I'm sorry for making you all wait so long, but I shall make it worth your while by including more action! . . . Anyways, I'll be updating as soon as possible from now on! :)

I've been listening to Pendulum a lot lately. Look them up, their music is good inspiration!

Also, for lack of inspiration, I use God a lot later in the chapter. Shows off my religion, eh? Well, just wanted you guys to know, if you're atheist or whatever, I'm not trying to offend you or anything.

300,000 yen is like 3000 dollars, if I get my estimation is right, by the way. You might want to check that though. Anyway, it sounds like a lot of money.

**Disclaimer: You should know by now, but don't read this if you don't like yuri! I don't own Naruto! If I did, I'd be rich, and the series would probably be MUCH more entertaining! (and full of lesbian sexings!)**

* * *

It'd been nearly a day since I had walked home alone in that snow, yet I was still taken with what Ino did to me. I had slept in, as usual. Lying in bed, I couldn't help but to think about her. She was simply beautiful in everything that she did. It was impossible for me not to obsess over her. Or rather, it was impossible for me not to obsess over anything now, really. Perhaps, it was a stage. Anyway, it really didn't matter, as long as Ino was alive and well, I would will myself into living along side her.

I sighed and ran my left hand through my hair, reaching into my pocket and feeling around for my phone until I realized it wasn't there anymore. I sighed once again and remembered that I had put it on my dresser before I went to sleep. Huffing, I rolled out of my bed and grabbed the cheap piece of crap from the mess on the dresser. I really needed to do something about all that stuff. Eight years of rubbish laying around really wasn't helping my sane-person act. I sighed once more, just for good measure, and checked to see if I had any missed calls. Sure enough, as expected, I had.

"Twenty-seven missed calls?! From who?" I screamed, ignoring the fact that my parents were asleep. It was ten o'clock or so, and I had to be over at Ino's by eleven. "Shit," I said, cursing my terrible timing. Sighing again, I checked to see who had called me so many times, muttering random obscenities each time Naruto's number came up until I came across Ino's number. My face lit up.

_I thought I told her I'd call, _I thought, smirking to myself. She called six times. _She must be feeling really desperate to dial my number that many times over, _I mused. I shrugged out of yesterday's clothes and went to take my shower, smiling the whole time. The cold water hit me in the face hard, but it didn't phase me. I had better things to do than flip out about liquid lead and shitty Japanese showers today. I washed my hair and lathered up my body with the excess soap, thinking of all the fun I would have at Ino's house and rinsing off.

Turning off the water, I made a quick leap from the shower and out onto the bathroom floor, grabbing the towel and drying myself off in a flurry of patting and dabbing. Running down the hall, I tossed the used towel into the pantry and ran into my room to put on my clothes and fix my hair. Today, I chose a black tank-top, a green and white hoodie with pink skulls, and a pair of black skinny jeans, along with my usual pair of ripped up converse shoes. Looking in the mirror, I gave myself the once over and fixed my hair, before jogging my way out of the house and hopping on Naruto's ex-bike and beginning to pedal my way over to her house.

On the way there, I whipped out my phone and dialed her number. The phone didn't even ring once before she picked up.

"Moshi-Moshi, Sakura-chan!" Ino said, giggling like a six year-old. I could almost feel how happy she was on my end of the phone.

I grinned, "Ino-chan, what's up with all the giggling? I'm just calling to tell you I'm coming over now."

"Oh, nothing, Saku-chan, I'm just really happy!" she replied, still giggling.

I laughed, "Oh. I was beginning to think you were on something for a second there." I let out a laugh, panting hard.

"Nah, I wouldn't be able to leave you out of something like that. So, whatcha doin?" She said, still giggling slightly. I grinned, even though I knew she couldn't see it.

"Going to your house. What else could I possible be doing while I'm calling you on the phone? Besides, I thought that I already told you that!" I said, huffing lightly from pedaling so hard.

"Let me guess . . . Getting off?" She asked, half-serious.

I laughed, "Oh yes, I'm so totally fingering myself while on a bicycle, going down the street, talking to you on a cellphone, Ino, 'cause I'm just that special. Yeah right." I actually had done that before. Not the masturbating on a bike thing, but I'd called her on her phone a couple times like that, the entire time I'd have one hand down my pants and the other up my shirt, holding the phone with my shoulder, because apparently, I'm the type of person who can fuck themselves and hold a normal conversation at the same time. How amazing, eh?

"That was a little too much information, Sakura." Ino giggled, probably blushing while trying to keep from laughing. Evidently, her attempts were failing. I had to hold the phone away from my ear a bit to keep the volume at comfortable levels.

"I was being sarcastic."

"It's still nasty . . but kinda hot," she said, giggling.

I laughed, "Oh, so now you're going lesbo on me?" I asked, "Wow, I never expected that to happen."

Ino didn't say anything, but gave a nervous laugh. I decided to change the subject. By the time I managed to forget what we were talking about entirely, I was about a block from her house and steadily getting closer, to the point where I could soon see her window, the driveway, and finally the fence in the back yard, all the while, Ino and I chatted, changing subjects like she changes clothes, a mile a minute.

"Aren't you happy my parents aren't going to be home today?" Ino asked, excited.

I shrugged inwardly and asked, "Sure, I guess. What are we supposed to do," as I walked up to the doorway, smoothing my hair and popping a mint before knocking on the door, "Don't tell me we're going to drink sake again. You know what happened last time."

"Hold on a minute, someone's at the door," she said, and I heard her beginning to walk down the stairs over the phone. That thing had a damn good microphone on it, and I was glad of it, since that meant that I got to hear every single sound she made.

"Kay," I said, knowing that the person she was talking about would be me.

Ino answered the door and stood there for a few seconds, mouth half open, "Um . ."

"Well, do you like what you see?" I said, still holding the phone up to my ear. I'd long since dropped the bike in the middle of her yard, and half unzipped my hoodie for good measure. I grinned wolfishly.

"Sakura. You look . . . sexy!" she exclaimed.

"What?" I managed to say. My throat felt as if it was closing off and I felt my heart beat pulse through my face hotly. I was blushing. Was she _really_ saying that about _me_? Me of all people. I couldn't believe my ears. "You think . . . I look . . sexy?" I asked, stuttering.

"Um, yeah, totally!" She blurted, confirming my doubts. I let out an inaudible sigh of relief as she continued, "I mean, like, you have the totally-hot-emo-guy-wearing-a-super-tight-hoodie thing going on. Uh . . yeah!" Ino's blush seemed to multiply with each passing second, so rather than to watch her stumble over her words in mental agony, or embarrassment, I decided to try changing the subject. I'd never seen her like this before. Usually, she could handle herself in a conversation, but apparently not now. Needless to say, it was quite a change, and a cute one at that.

"So, what're you planning on us doing tonight?" I asked, purposely ignoring the fact that she had likened me to a guy just moments before, and not just any guy, a _totally-hot_ guy.

Her blush melted away slightly, "I dunno, maybe go walking somewhere," she said, in thought.

I was surprised that Ino, the preppiest girl ever, would want to go somewhere public with _no-one_ but me around her, not to mention to want to _walk _there, completely on a whim. It wasn't that I didn't think it was possible, but it was just rare. We almost never went anywhere when I came over. Perhaps the comfort of just being alone together was enough for her. She really was a simple person at heart, when it came right down to it.

I gave a chuckle at this realization, to which Ino inquired, "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing," I lied, although I didn't really have a reason to. I had become so accustomed to lying in the past years, I rarely could tell the difference between when I was telling the truth and when I wasn't. _So pathetic, _I thought, more or less declaring to myself, _Why Ino would ever like you, I have no clue._

"Liar." She said. I didn't respond to it. Soon enough, she got the point and started another conversation. All the while, we were standing in her doorway like idiots, getting funny looks from the strangers who went down her road. We ended up walking to the mall, much like Naruto would always request me to do, however, unlike when Naruto would ask me to do this, I never protested. In fact, I was actually eager, which makes sense, since Ino, the object of my affection (more like obsession), was walking side by side with me, holding my hand in hers.

Her skin was soft, irresistibly so. Just being able to touch her spelled ecstasy for me, but actually doing it was like heaven on Earth. I prayed our hands would never lose contact again, for this reason, knowing it was useless though. Minutes later, my train of thought was broken by the heavenly sound of her voice.

"Sakura, you look so cute with that stupid look on your face," she said.

I laughed, "I don't know whether to feel happy or insulted, Ino. I have to admit though, that's the best compliment I've had all day, especially since it's coming from you." It wasn't, but I said so anyway. After all, at least this time, it didn't catch me off guard like the last one. I flashed her a goofy smile and picked up the speed of my walking to match her pace. This would've looked odd to anyone who could have seen us like this, but I wouldn't care because I wanted it that badly. If she and I dated, there'd be no way that I'd have us staying in the closet, no way in hell.

Ino smiled back and made a comment. I'm pretty sure I responded, but whatever it was probably wasn't all that important, since I got interrupted by her screaming, "Hey look, it's the mall! I'll race you there!"

She pointed at the mall with her free hand, like I hadn't seen it from two blocks off, and took off running full speed, dragging me along with her, oblivious to the fact that out hands were still intertwined. Seeing that I had no choice, I ran behind her, trying to keep up as best as I could.

We finally reached the door after about two minutes of solid running. Both of us were exhausted and panting heavily. _Thank God for the winter season, _I thought to myself, brushing my shoulder off with my free hand. "God, Ino, please tell me you're never going to make me do that again!" I said breathlessly, noticing that our hands never unclasped during the entire time we ran. It was almost like a small consolation, but not really, since I prayed for it, if only half seriously at the time. Ino just laughed and pulled me closer to the door.

We walked into the mall together, closer than we normally would have, since we were jointed at the hand still. Some people gave us funny looks, but it made no difference to us. Some jerks made cat-calls at us, but Ino gave no signs of letting go, which was a huge relief. I was definitely enjoying this. As usual, however, nothing that I enjoy lasts very long. Hesitantly, we agreed to split up for a few minutes. I would go into Hot Topic, while she would go into Victoria's Secret and shop for God knows what ('kinky lingerie, yay!'). Afterwards, I was to meet her by the food court, coincidentally, directly under the balcony where she threw her frappé at me for gawking at her underwear.

_Ah, the good old days of getting attacked by flying vanilla frappés, how wonderful, _I thought to myself as I began walking into the store, _Especially when those frappés just happen magically get you back together with your old bestie, not to mention the sexiest girl in school! _I smiled at Sasuke for no reason other than just being happy.

"Sakura, stop smiling, you're creeping me out." Sasuke mumbled from behind the counter.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Since when did you show any sort of emotion over anything, pretty boy?"

He let out a small chuckle, "Sakura, don't tell me you're seriously happy. Is all that time with Ino going to your head?"

"Is your obsession with Naruto going to yours?" I asked, "Of course it is, dumb-fuck. Why else would I be smiling like this?"

"How should I know? Speaking of Naruto, have you seen that idiot anywhere?" He asked, drawing circles on the glass counter top with his fingers and propping his elbow on it, looking at the items below the surface. I flipped through a rack of pants.

"Nope. I haven't talked to him for a day or two. You want his number or something?" I asked, flipping through more black pants.

"Wow, Sakura. You being nice to me? This is a first."

"Yeah; don't get used to it. Do you want it or not?" I asked threatening to leave.

"Yes, I want it! Geez, Sakura, why wouldn't I?" He said, looking more pathetic than I'd ever seen him before. I stopped flipping through the endless rack of black pants and walked to the counter, grabbing a pair of black fingered gloves on the way.

"Here. You owe me. Oh, and by the way, give me your number." I said, flipping open my Razr and making sure Naruto's number was the first one visible on the screen. _Maybe this'll give Naruto someone to harass besides me, _I thought, smiling to myself.

I got out the money to pay for the gloves while he put Naruto's number into his phone and gave me his, brushing back his girlish bangs as he did so. I took my phone back and waved goodbye to him, heading toward where Ino and I agreed to meet to wait for her. "I'll call you tonight, Sasuke-kun," I said as I walked away from the entrance.

"Later Sakura-kun!" He yelled back at me, obviously in a better mood. How I befriended him, I'll never know. I sighed, walking at a break-neck pace, avoiding the numerous jocks in the crowded pathways of the infernal compound as I continued on my trek. It was anything but pleasurable. What made it worse was that to get to the balcony, I'd have to walk directly through a pack of those numb-skulled buffoons.

_Stupid fucking coffee shop, stupid fucking jocks, stupid fucking mall! _I thought, cursing the fact that the mall even existed as I shoved my way through the crowd of sweating teenagers, all of them waiting in a muddled line for the Pro Sports shop. I'm pretty sure that I saw some people butting in line too. _What selfish retardation,_ I thought.

I reached my destination and ripped the tags off of my newly acquired gloves, tapping my foot as I waited for Ino to arrive. I was beginning to think she forgot about meeting me here when we were done shopping, but before I could finish the thought, she came walking up, loaded down with bags as usual.

"Damn, Ino, how much money did you spend on all this?!" I asked.

Ino put a finger up to her chin, thinking, "Oh, about three-hundred-thousand yen!"

"What?! That's more money than I've made in my lifetime!" I yelled, attracting more attention than I really wanted to. Luckily, nothing too serious happened, just a couple jocks glancing at me and rolling their eyes. I hated jocks.

She smiled, "It's okay, I put it on my dad's credit card!"

I just shook my head, "You're bad, Ino . . Very, very bad, you know that?"

"What's wrong with that?" She asked.

I shrugged. How the hell her father could afford three-hundred-thousand yen was something I did not and probably would not ever fathom.

We spent about two more hours together at the mall and walked back home, me carrying shopping bags, and Ino feeding me bits and pieces of a giant chocolate chip cookie we had bought. We didn't say very much, contrary to what we did on the way there. I didn't mind the silence, carrying her things was enough to keep me satisfied. It wasn't long before we reached her house again and piled all her new clothes up in her room.

"Aren't you going to try them on?" I asked, expectant. Usually, when Ino bought things, she was already ripping into them before we'd reach the house, not just drop them down to the floor and flop into bed with me.

"Nope. I figured spending my valuable time with you was more important." She replied matter-of-factly.

I blushed, "That's unusual."

"How, exactly?" she asked, as if it weren't totally obvious that she normally either completely ignored me, or tried to fit me into her clothes whenever we were in this situation.

"I dunno, it just is," I drawled, tracing her name in the air. We switched sides, evidently; she was now on the side of the bed nearest to the nightstand. I sighed. I could feel the vertebrae of Ino's neck as she rested her head on my shoulder and chest through my hoodie, her cheek teasing at my right breast lightly. I'm sure it wasn't entirely intentional.

"Sakura?" she asked.

"Hnn?"

"You're sexy."

I laughed, "You're joking, right?"

"Nope."

"I find that hard to believe."

Ino giggled, "Well, if I wasn't serious about it, I wouldn't tell you."

"That's completely ridiculous. You're never serious about anything unless it's boys, shopping, or sake." I said.

"You at least get the point, right?" She asked, turning to face me.

"Isn't it obvious, Ino pig?" I replied as I brushed a lock of my unruly hair from my face.

"Not really, forehead girl." She said. I knew that it wasn't an insult from the smile she gave me. I laughed.

_Get to the point, dammit, _I thought to myself, saying nothing. I wished I didn't, since the moments of silence that passed grew increasingly awkward after that point. Minutes ticked by; still no signs of conversation. I glanced over at Ino, watching as she chewed her lip. _Wow, Ino Yamanaka, Little Miss Perfect, biting her lip . . How uncharacteristically sexy of her, _I thought, wondering what was on her mind. My inner self agreed wholly, which was an unusual occurrence.

Ino sighed, "Sakura, I've been thinking," Ino said, completely out of the blue.

"About what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and turning my head to face her.

"Well, I think I'm going to give you a chance . . Like, you know, a relationship. I mean, well, I really don't know how to say this, but I know you wouldn't try to hurt me or anything and I really trust you a lot, so I think that wouldn't hurt to try maybe experimenting a bit with my sexuality . . as long as it's with you, I guess it'll be okay," she said, fumbling for words, and finally, the chance I'd been waiting for my entire life was given to me. I felt the weight of the world lift off of my shoulders at that moment. I wanted to say so many things to her, but when I opened my mouth to try, nothing came out. Speechless, I blushed a deep hue of pink.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked, her eyes widening with concern.

I stuttered, "Uh . . Are you s-sure this is what you want?" I asked, with her best interest in mind.

She nodded furiously, clasping her hands together with emphasis.

"Okay then . . So . . What now?" I asked, not really having any experience in relationships.

Ino shrugged, "I dunno . . . Cuddle?"

"I figured you'd say that," I said, scooting closer to her, "Alas, cuddling it is!"

"That was so nerdy. You know that, right?" she asked, throwing her body across mine and resting her head in the crook of my neck.

"Yeah, but if I didn't agree with you, you'd hit me," I gave a small chuckle and traced circles on her back with the fingers of my right hand.

Ino laughed, her lips brushing against my neck, "No I wouldn't. What kind of idiot would I be if I beat up the world's greatest pillow?"

I laughed, feeling her hot breath on my neck, faintly teasing it. It was an electrifying experience. "So that's why you're all up on me like this," I said, grinning, both out of nervousness and amusement. I wondered what she would think if she knew just how much I thought of her. I glanced down at her, watching her breathing. Even from the rear, she was stunning.

"You know, Saku-chan, you're impossible . . and that's what I like about you."

* * *

Eh, well, that's the end for now. I didn't really know what to write. I apologize for the short chapter, guys. I've been having much work to do. Don't expect me to update this by next week. I have practice and football games. I'll make an attempt, but I won't promise anything. And yes, I know, the ending is very cheesy. I apologize for that also. If it's hard to read, my bad. I didn't have Open Office to use, so it may be screwed up beyond belief. R&R please so I can see where I went wrong! Reviews are my life's blood!


	8. Issues

Update!

Sorry if this one's a bit lame, but I haven't had much time to really do anything, what with school and all. It's probably a bit sappy and underdeveloped too.

* * *

I woke up the next morning, surprised that the two of us could've fallen asleep so quickly. I sighed, stroking Ino's long hair as we lay in bed together. Through the night, she'd rolled over further, her whole body resting on mine. I could feel a weak smile on her face through my shirt. Before I could stretch and wake up properly, Ino's arms gave me a protesting squeeze.

"Saku-chaaan!" she moaned, obviously still sleeping.

I blushed, chewing my lip lightly. I hated being such a naturally self conscious person. Sighing, I stared at the ceiling pinned down by Ino's weight. It wasn't at all unpleasant though. Just being with her had me in a state of euphoria, espescially since I'd always wanted to be with her. The thought that she was mine, _all_ mine kept playing through my head over and over, to the point where I almost wanted to shut it out. It was a wonderful feeling, at least until it was pushed out of my brain by a phone ringing.

I patted around my pants, searching for the phone as it vibrated and rang loudly in my pocket, rousing Ino from her peaceful sleep. I finally ripped it out of my pocket and squinted at the caller ID to see who could be calling me at such an ungodly hour. It was Sasuke. Frowning, I answered.

"Sakura?" His voice poured out of the phone.

"What?" I said, unintentionally sounding angry.

Sasuke's voice softened, "Geez, don't bite my head off. I was only calling you to see if you were alive. You never called me last night, by the way."

"Oh, sorry." I murmured half-heartedly.

"It's okay. So, how's _you know who_?" he asked.

"Ino? . . She's fine." I said.

"Cool."

"You know that it's three in the morning don't you?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Not really. I've been talking to Naruto all night." He said, guiltily.

I sighed, "Well, that explains a lot. Is Lee still obsessed with him?"

"Yeah." He sighed.

I frowned, "Well, if I somehow miraculously got my girl, maybe you can get yours."

"Yeah . . Hey, Naruto isn't a girl!" He said defensively.

I chuckled, "Well, he's more of a girl than you are, I'm sure."

"He'd better be." Sasuke said, lightening up.

"Well, uh, can you call me back later? I sorta need to catch some more 'Z's." I said, stretching slightly.

"Yeah, sure. Good luck with your girl! Later Sakura-kun!" He said, sounding extremely hyper. I had the idea that he was going to be talking Naruto a hell of a lot more than usual.

"Later Uber-Obsessed Sasuke-kun." I said, hanging up the phone and turning it off to prevent any more interruptions.

When I replaced the phone in my pocket and got comfortable again, Ino, who hadn't paid the slightest attention to the conversation, asked groggily, "Who was that?"

"Sasuke." I answered dully.

"You guys talk? Don't you hate each other?" She asked, surprised.

"No, not really. Ever since you stopped chasing after him, we've been pretty good friends." I said nonchalantly.

"Oh."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She sighed, "Nothing." Her voice shook with every word.

"Tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth." She said, lying through her teeth.

I sighed, "Well, if you're telling me the truth, why do you sound like you're about to cry?"

"Because I said so."

"If you don't tell me what it is, I can't make it better."

"What good is it? If I tell you, you still won't be able to fix it." A tear slid down her cheek.

I sighed, "Look, at least tell me if it has anything to do with me so I won't feel all guilty, okay?"

"It's about our relationship." she said, and my heart sank.

I didn't say a word.

"Look, if we're going to be _together, _we're going to have stay in the closet . . . I can't let people know I'm . . _gay._" she said, as if 'together' and 'gay' were horrible words that shouldn't be spoken in the same sentence, even in private.

I flinched. _I should've seen this coming,_ I thought.

"I mean, I don't even _know_ if I am or not, so I can't come out really!" She said, breaking my heart with her excuses.

"Stop right there." I said quietly.

She paused, "What?"

I began shaking, losing the feeling in my limbs as sadness began washing over me. I leapt off the bed and stuttered as I slipped on my shoes and pulled on the hoodie that I'd taken off just before going to sleep, "I-I need some time alone, okay? Just a while to think about this . . . I . . I don't know when I'll be back. Don't wait for me."

"Wait!" Ino said, attempting to follow me. I took off running. I was very fast. I'd been on the track team for a few months so I doubted that Ino could keep up with me. Even though I thought she might follow me, I kept going, pouring my energy into the simple task with gusto. I slammed the doors behind me as I went, and with that I promptly sprinted down the stairwell and out of the door, not even bothering to say goodbye to her parents as they made breakfast. I didn't even look back. I knew I would regret this later, but I did not feel that I could bear being in the same room with her as the situation stood.

I ran as fast as I could, just trying to get away. Out of all the things she could've said, that had to be one of the top ten worst. I cried, pushing myself to run as fast and hard as I possibly could manage, remembering the shocked look on her face as I'd turned and ran out of her room. How could one group of words hurt someone so much?

Ino was the last thing I'd expected to run from. First, I ran away from my fear, I ran away from boys, then I ran away from home, and afterwards I ran from conflict, but now I was running from the same thing I'd been running to. I stopped running when I realized there was nowhere else for me to go, not besides Naruto's house, or maybe Sasuke's, both of which probably wouldn't be the best to go to about something so serious as this. Having nowhere else to go, I went back home. It was only a few blocks away. I frowned at the ugly outside, marred with cracks and wooden boards over the windows. I went inside and found my room after some fumbling around in the dark. Apparently, the power was off. Perhaps that was the reason why it was so deathly cold inside, so unlike Ino's house. The thought of which brought more steadily streaming tears to my eyes.

I settled in my old too-small-feet-hanging-off-the-edge bed, burying my head in the covers and letting out silent sobs. The house was quiet except for the constant hiss of my breath, surprisingly. Usually, the place would drive me insane with all the noises, screams, and sounds of objects breaking and/or being thrown around. I mused for a moment, that my parents had finally ran out of things to break and that they were probably off buying some more, just to annoy the shit out of me . . or make God decide to take a little more pity on my poor soul. I laughed wryly about the notion, but soon stopped and forced myself to be still. For an hour, all I could think about was what Ino had said. I remembered everything, from the cliched runaway-sleepovers to the icecream in the park, all in one single moment.

I sighed and pounded my fist to the bed. I couldn't stand being still. Annoyed at all the time I'd wasted, I decided to walk to the park, despite the slow pitter-patter of rain that had began assaulting my eardrums minutes earlier. I rolled out of bed and went outside, heading to the large plot of land known simply as 'The Park.' After a few blocks in the pouring rain, stepping into puddle after puddle, I reached it.

The sun still shone brightly, even through the rain in the quiet park. The rain had reduced to a mere sprinkle by the time I'd gotten there. That didn't make me any less cold though. I sighed, heading over to a park bench, which was nestled under a great tree with an umbrella and a table nearby. It was the same bench Ino and I had sat in, that same day that dog-boy, Kiba, had nearly flattened her, along with her icecream.

I sighed, remembering it as if it were yesterday. I remembered how our tongues brushed, it was an accident, but it still happened, and it still tripped me up, even years later. The memories flooded my mind; happy and sad, they all came back, bringing tears to my eyes once again, as if it couldn't get any worse already. I stared up at the sky, squinting as rain pelted my face. Then I saw the old man again, the same one who gave the free icecream to us every day. He was walking at his usual pace, cleaning up the park with a rake and occasionally heading back towards his icecream cart and maintaining it. I watched him for a few minutes before deciding to walk through the park.

As I neared the bend, I came upon the man. His face was just as wrinkly and old looking as ever. He smiled to me and waved me over.

"Where is your friend?" he asked.

I sighed, "Right where I left her."

"Why don't you go back and get her?" He lightheartedly suggested.

"I'm still asking myself the same question." I answered honestly.

"Maybe you should talk about it?" The man suggested lightly, proceeding to ramble on about his own long lost love. According to his admittedly jumbled memory, he once had a love, slightly younger then he, a budding young rose, so fragile, yet free. Though they sounded like poetic verses to me, hearing the words he spoke struck a chord in my heart.

"What was her name?"

"_He._" The man answered.

I stuttered, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It is alright." The man answered. "He was your friend's grandfather. A proud man was he. Though, to keep his status in his clan and avoid exile, he was forced to marry a wife, leaving me out in the cold. I can't remember a sadder time in my life."

"That's so . . sad." I said, being redundant.

"It wasn't entirely his fault. I was so angry that he would not see me in public. I stopped talking to him, ran away, stayed off to myself. Eventually, we just grew apart. That's why you need to go talk to her. Don't be a fool in the rain like me." He stood up again, giving me a steely gaze. "Now go."

I stood up frantically. "What should I say? What should I do?"

"Tell her what you feel. Show her what's in here." He gestured to his chest emphatically, adding, "Now go! Go quickly before your time is up!"

I nodded, turning toward Ino's house and taking off full speed, yelling a thank you back to the old man and feeling the rain stinging my face as I went. I ran from street to street, road to road, all the while, the old man's words stuck in my head.

_So Ino's grandfather was gay? _I asked myself, wondering if anyone else knew. As far as I knew though, the man was dead, so there was no point in reading into his story as my current situation stood. Blocks later, I was forced to slow down to a brisk walk. Even then, however, I knew that I could hardly take any more travel on foot. As if it couldn't get any worse, the rain turned to hail.

I stopped to rest for a moment under a nearby tree. It was a magnificent oak, the high winds and hail doing near nothing to mar its ancient beauty. I pulled out my phone, looking at the numbers that popped up. I had seven missed calls, three voice mails, and three text messages. Three calls from Ino, four from Naruto, and one from Sasuke. The texts were mostly from Naruto and Sasuke. I decided to look at the voice mail. The first two were left by Ino.

_"Sakura, Sakura! Come back! Answer me!" Ino blubbered in a pleading voice. "I'm sorry for what I said, even if I don't know what it was. I'm so sorry and I -" the rest rest of her sentence was incomprehensible blubbering, which was cut off promptly by a beep, signalling the end of the message._

I listened to the next voice mail, it a continuation of the first, no more comprehensible than the last. The final message, which was from Naruto, was redundant, but I was so tired, I didn't bother taking the time to think up a reason not to listen.

_"Sakura what's wrong with you?! How could you just leave Ino like that? I thought you were better than that! You made her cry! Now damnit, you go make it better or consider us enemies! Believe it!" Naruto's scratchy voice came over the phone. He was yelling furiously. That was the end of the message._

Annoyed and determined to go find my girl, I stood up and stretched, the short rest and lecture giving me resolve enough to go on. I started walking. It was nearly impossible to see. The path was littered with those pesky ice balls, constantly tripping me up and I walked along the way. Desperately wanting to get to Ino before she did something stupid, I started running. Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone ran out in front of me, causing us to crash together and land on the hard concrete sidewalk. I grunted, opening my eyes from the previous squint they had taken the shape of, looking up to see a blurry female figure above me.

"Ngh . . Sakura?" The figure said, cooing in discomfort. If I wasn't so dazed, I might have recognized them. Whoever it was had landed squarely on top of me, effectively soaking us both.

"Huh?" I murmured, dully aware of the small ice balls jabbing into my back.

A lock of blonde hair fell onto my face, jogging my memory. "Sakura are you okay?" The figure sat up slightly and attempted to lift me.

"Hnn? . . Ino? What're you doing here?" I whimpered pathetically. Ino stood up, offering me a hand. I pushed myself up on my own, looking at her curiously. The hail that was constantly pelting us didn't make it any less awkward.

"I was trying to find you." her voice came, this time shaky and filled with worry.

I sighed, shielding my head from further bombardment, "I - I'm sorry."

"It's okay." she said, holding me as tightly as possible. She kissed my cheek. "It's me that should be apologizing."

"No, it's me. I'm so sorry I left you like that." I said, nuzzling her, trying to keep the cold from biting me too hard. Both of us were shivering.

"It's okay . . because I love you." She kissed me again, this time in the shoulder.

"Shouldn't we go home?"

Ino nodded, taking my hand and walked down the street with me. Once again, I thought everything was going to be fine, but I knew, my world was on the path down the toilet all over again. I didn't care though. I thought to myself, _If thats the way it has to be, I guess there's no better way to live my dreams._

_

* * *

_

**To be Continued.**

**A/N: Leave me some reviews! I'm sorta running out of places to take the story and I need you guys' help if I'm to really continue it!**


	9. Bumps in the Road

**Update!**

**Eh, I wasn't sure where to take this. God knows, this stuff looks better in word than on FF. A lot of drama in this one too, so I hope you guys enjoy. Also, there might not be too much Ino in the next few chappies, so any of you fans that like other yuri/yaoi pairings, now's a time to get your hopes up!**

* * *

Ino and I walked home hand in hand. Two days passed. It was now Sunday night, and I hadn't so much as said a word about what made me change my mind and turn back after I'd ran so hard to get away from her. We were in the kitchen, just starting to eat what I assumed was calamari mixed into chow mein, which was quite delicious, given the strange appearance when the two of us had finally decided to get up and do something for ourselves. Luckily, Ino's parents were out of the house for a bit.

The two of us were sitting at the table together, playing in the strange food and attempting to feed each other. It was pretty pathetic. We were dropping food everywhere, and if I didn't know better, I'd say it was a contest of who could make the biggest mess. Nevertheless, I still giggled like a school girl each time that the slimy mixture of noodles and squid failed to reach my mouth. Who knew that ruining expensive clothes could be so fun?

Alas, our play time was interrupted by a phone call, not mine either. Ino barely missed poking my eye out as she flailed around, trying to reach the furiously buzzing object, hurriedly opening it when she finally managed to do so. She answered, "Moshi-moshi."

I looked around, not knowing whether I should move or not. I'd never been in a situation where someone _else _got a phone call, unless those people weren't in my immediate vicinity, of course. Ino spoke again, this time sounding surprised and slightly annoyed, "Hinata spit it out, I'm kinda in the middle of something here!"

_Hinata? Ino talks to that chick? Doesn't she know that she's a total stalker?! . . . oh wait, __**I'm**_ _a total stalker. Like I have room to talk, _I thought, zoning out. I'd met Hinata several times, and of course, I saw her when I went shopping at Hot Topic, but I'd never really talked to her about anything other than how stupid her obsession with Naruto was or small talk, like the weather, etcetera.

**Gee, you're a real genius there Sakura. **

I huffed, _Haven't heard from you in a while . . I thought I told you to go away ages ago._

_**Oh, that's a nice greeting you have for your self-conscious there. You can't even be civil to yourself. Creep.**_

I sighed. "Let's get this over with." I said aloud, rolling my eyes, not realizing my error.

"Huh?" Ino's face drifted in between hurt and confusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that! I was talking to-"

Ino sighed, "Sure you didn't. One day you run off and then you expect me to be all cool when you're just so damn insensitive!" She looked like she was about to cry as she folded her arms and got up, throwing her phone at me. It hit me square in the forehead.

I caught the device before it hit the floor and after a few seconds put it to my ear, not sure what to do. Somehow, the impact hadn't broken it, or even hung it up. On the other end, the girl, Hinata, timidly spoke. "Ino? . . Ino what ha- happened? Wha- what was that n- noise?"

"Uh . . Hinata?" I said, forming the sounds as if they were out of some strange foreign language.

"Y-yes?"

"Um, this is Sakura . . . I- I don't know what to say . . Ino and I, we- we just fought. She threw the phone at me and walked off." I sighed, wishing I had the courage to go up after Ino.

"Oh . . I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked stupidly, trying to ignore the loud stomping and screaming upstairs, undoubtedly coming from Ino.

Hinata drew in a breath, "I- I don't know."

"Well what should I do?"

"I- don't know . . m- maybe you sh- should go talk to her?" The girl said, obviously as clueless as me.

"Well . . I'll try. Um, call back later?" I said.

"Mm-hm" Hinata said, hanging up.

"Weird." I muttered to myself, sighing and closing Ino's phone, holding my forehead as I went upstairs. _Well, I guess I have no choice then. It's either go up there or consider Ino as free real-estate for the first jack ass that comes along. _I thought, wincing as the girl sobbed, throwing things around on the floor above. Finally, after I finished the last flight of stairs, Ino's doorway came into view. I approached it tentatively, almost as if I was afraid that if I got too close bolts of pure fury would fly out from the edges and zap me to oblivion.

"Um . . Ino?" I asked softly after the noise had died down. My hand was resting on the door knob.

She instantly answered, "What?" Annoyance, anger, and sadness blended into one solid being.

"I- I have your phone." I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, so?"

I cracked the door, "I wanted to give it back to you." I hung my head lightly, daring myself just enough to slip inside slightly and push the door closed. Ino was a mess. She wouldn't even look up.

Ino didn't say anything.

"Here." I said, placing it in her hand and taking a step back, just in case she decided to go absolutely insane.

Ino peeked from around the pillow she was clutching to her face, still silent.

"Look, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to say that . . You see, I have this problem . . like, where this voice is in my head and well, it really pisses me off . . . so, I'm really hoping you'll believe me here . . " I said, trying to look as sincere as possible.

"And how do I know you're not lying?" She asked, skeptical.

I sighed, "Why would I lie to you? That's not what people do when they love someone, is it?"

"No?"

"So, if I love you, and you love me, then what reason would I have to lie to you?" I asked.

"Okay, okay, I believe you!" she said.

I smiled weakly, sitting on the bed next to her and breathing out another, lighter sigh. "So, how's it feel?"

"How's what feel?" Ino asked.

"You know, that famous first fight that every person goes through in a relationship that's supposed to make it stronger?" I elaborated.

She opened her mouth for a second. "Um, I dunno . . good I guess? . . now that it's over with."

"Well look . . I'll make it up to you," I said, beginning what would be the most selfless moment of my life.

Ino looked up at me in anticipation, "How?"

"How about . . a date?" I asked, my heart pounding.

Ino's eyes instantly brightened, "Saku-chan, I thought you'd never ask!" She practically tackled me into a hug, squeezing my guts as hard as she could and pinning me to the bed with her weight, not that I minded; her bed was like a mini-heaven, stuffed with all the softness and cuddles that you could possibly think of.

"So . . where should it be?" I asked after she let up a bit.

Ino put a finger to her chin in thought. After a second, she shrugged and put it back down. "Hmm . . we could go to that new Joe Muggs at the mall I guess. It's sorta date material I think." she said, chewing her lip lightly.

I cleared my throat. "Well, I guess Joe Muggs it is then."

"Saku-chan, you're so sweet!" She cooed, nearly squeezing the life out of me.

"I- Ino . . . chan . . can't . . breathe!" I said, between gasps.

"Oh, sorry" she replied, instantly letting up.

I nodded, "It's fine Ino-chan,"

"So when's this date going to be?" She asked, still lying on top of me, fidgeting with her feet.

I squinted for a second. "Hmm . . Maybe Tuesday?"

"We have school on Tuesday, and a project," She said, pausing, "Oh shit, we didn't do the project! Saku-chan! We have to finish that or we're gonna fail!" Ino leapt to her feet.

I shrugged, "I can finish that stupid thing in five minutes. Don't worry about it Ino-chan."

"But what if you forget?!" She asked, pacing frantically.

I sighed, "Really, don't worry about it. We have the rest of the semester to do it! Besides, you losing sleep over some dumbass project isn't going to help anyone."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, now lets get some sleep; we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." I said, smiling, as she finally decided to cooperate and try to get some sleep.

The next day was the same as usual, me going to school with Ino, getting assaulted by her fanclub, and going to our usual classes, two of which, I skipped. In my perusing around the halls during this time, I managed to avoid being glomped by the self-proclaimed Naruto fangirls - Uchiha and Hyuuga, namely. I say fangirls because well, Sasuke practically _was_ a girl, and Hinata, well, she was a girl too, even if she did like Naruto, of all people. I happily tiptoed around them and headed toward the girl's restrooms. What I found when I got there was quite possibly the most annoying incident I'd experienced to date.

"Did you guys see Ino-sama this morning?" an annoying squirrely girl asked. I was hiding on the other side of a wall, so I couldn't see faces.

One of the girls made a smacking noise. "Yeah, and did you see who she was with?"

"Yeah, it was that weird pink-headed bitch!" One of them said, making a disgusted sound.

"I don't know what she sees in her." Another voice chimed in. It sounded like Kin.

"Ugh, I hate her! Ino should be hanging out with us, not her! Where does she get off stealing Ino like that?"

"Yeah, fucking lesbian. Ugh!" Came the voice again. It was hard to tell who was talking, especially since I was getting madder than hell just standing there.

_Just walk away Sakura, just WALK away._ I kept telling myself.

"Wait . . you don't think that . ."

"Ino's a lesbian too?!"

"No way!"

_Okay, this is where I draw the line. _

"Holy shit, it's true isn't it?"

"Oh my god, Ino's a fucking lesbian! And she used to sleep in my bed!" One of the girls said, wailing in a high pitched voice, just in time for me to walk through the door.

"What's this about lesbian bed death?" I asked, sauntering into the room with false confidence. Really, on the inside, I was just hoping to save Ino's reputation, though I did want to be out of the closet with everyone, just so I could flaunt the fact that I, Sakura Haruno, the greatest failure in the universe (besides Naruto) got Ino Yamanaka, the most beautiful girl who ever existed. Nevertheless, there I was, defending her honor, knowing that I had a good chance of getting my ass kicked. Knowing how to street fight only goes so far when you're surrounded in a small space, all alone.

"What're you doing here Haruno?" Kin asked. I knew that was her voice all along.

"Oh nothing, just browsing around, sticking my nose where I shouldn't be." I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

"Well get your ass out of here." she said boldly, not knowing about all the whup-ass school I got from living with two abusive parents.

I laughed, "Make me."

"You asked for it!" she said, charging at me with her arms flailing.

Reflexively, I caught her punches and tripped her by side-stepping and forcing her over my leg. Her face hit the tile floor with a nice, hard, satisfying _'crunch'_.

"Anybody else want some?" I said, feeling empowered.

The other girls shook their heads. I stepped over Kin's body on the way out. "Oh, and by the way, have a _**nice **_day." I walked back down the hall, feeling a rush that I'd never felt before. Who knew the pain of others could make you feel so good?

_Wow, that went surprisingly well. Since when was I able to put someone down so quickly? _I thought, as I walked away, knowing that it could've ended much differently. Thankfully, it didn't. I was lucky.

Before I knew it, I'd gone and run up on one of the only Naruto fanclub members (two people) in the world, which I'd promised myself I'd avoid for as long as possible. My cover was blown when Hinata turned around and greeted me.

"S-Sakura-chan!" she said, almost whispering, as she fidgeted with her fingers, pushing them together and looking between me and the floor.

I gave a smirk and sighed, "Hinata-chan . . What's with the class skipping? I thought you were a good girl." I gave a slight laugh.

"Um – uh, I was – I was just g-going to the bathroom! Promise you won't tell!" She hissed, looking over to where Sasuke was standing on top of a garbage can, peering into a window. I assumed he was watching Naruto during Phys Ed, since the window was pointing that way. Why they had windows on the _inside_ of a building, I didn't know.

"Relax, I'm not going to tell on you. So, whatever happened to Ino? I haven't seen her in a couple periods now. I think she's avoiding me or something." I said, sighing.

Hinata didn't say anything.

"Well?" I said, growing a bit impatient.

She looked away, fidgeting even more than usual. "I – I don't know S-Sakura-chan . . Maybe . . . Maybe she got checked out?"

"Are you sure?" I prodded, knowing that I was making the poor girl feel horrible.

She nodded.

"Well, uh . . that sucks?" I said, the statement coming out as more of a question than anything, something that happened whenever I had no clue of what to say.

I stood there for about a minute, waiting on her to say something. She didn't, and right when I was about to turn around and leave, I heard footsteps. I knew the sound well; it was those big, clomping boots of Hiashi Hyuga, our principal, Hinata's father. I knew this because I'd been sent into his office enough for him to start treating my discipline referrals as casual greeting cards.

"Quick! We have to hide!" I hissed.

Hinata apparently didn't comprehend. She stood there with her mouth open, looking at me with widened eyes.

"Come on! He's going to catch us if you don't hurry up!" I said, hearing his footsteps begin to enter the foyer, which wasn't too far from us. I grabbed her arm and started tugging her down the hallway, instinctively looking for an escape. I glanced up for signs of Sasuke. He was gone.

_Well, he might not have the best tastes, but at least he knows when it's time to get the hell outta dodge, _I thought, dragging Hinata behind me and trying to be as quiet as possible, which was hard, considering that Hinata was protesting quite a bit. "Do you want us to get suspended?" I hissed back to her, ending her futile resistance and hurrying to the first door I saw. It was the only one I knew of on the hall we were in. I prayed to God that it'd be unlocked.

My heart was nearly beating out of my chest. I had my hand on the door, twisting and pulling as fast as I could. Hiashi was closing in. It'd be a matter of seconds before we were caught. I thought I was dead; the door wasn't opening. _Damn you janitors! Can't you leave anything unlocked?!_

I could almost hear Hinata thinking 'oh-shit-oh-shit,' not that I didn't feel the same way. I pulled on the door one last time, desperately, falling backwards when my hand slipped. Miraculously, the door opened, giving me enough resolve to pick myself back up again. I threw Hinata inside and jumped in on top of her, slamming the door shut and locking it with my free arm, breathing hard.

"S-Sakura?" Hinata whimpered.

I put my finger to her lips, trying to quiet her.

"Sakura-chan, y-you're . . you're on top of me . ." Hinata whispered, starting to babble. I heard Hiashi's footsteps getting closer and closer still.

"Shh! We're not out of the woods yet!" I hissed.

"But-" the rest of her sentence was muffled by my lips. Sure, it was cruel and indecent, but I couldn't have her getting us caught, especially in a locked janitor's closet. Hinata whimpered again, but stifled it when I tangled a hand in her short hair and snaked another one around her waist, kissing her as passionately and quietly as possible. Hinata wasn't enjoying this at all. She wriggled, trying to separate herself from me.

Hiashi's footsteps stopped for a moment. Hinata stopped squirming, making a muffled squeak into my mouth. Neither of us dared to breathe.

After what seemed like an eternity, I heard her father talking to himself from outside. He said, "Hmph, I guess I was just hearing things after all. Maybe what Tsunade said does have a grain of truth to it. Oh well," He laughed. I heard him turn and begin to leave.

Nevertheless, I didn't give poor Hinata her freedom back just yet. I did, however, lighten up on the pressure. When I was sure he was out of earshot, I pulled back and took a breath, prepared to do it all over if she started being loud again.

Hinata's breath was quick and raspy. "S-s-sakura, d-do you think it's safe to go now?" she asked, her voice quavering as she spoke. She was on the verge of crying.

I shook my head, then, realizing that she couldn't see, I whispered gently, "I'm not sure. I don't think so."

"O-okay Sakura-chan . . I - I trust you." She whimpered, her hands placed on my shoulders, pushing lightly, like they had been less than a minute ago. She shivered against me, letting out a few squeaks. Her breath came as a gasp, and one of her hands went to cover her mouth. She was crying. I felt so bad.

"Hinata-chan, I – I'm sorry." I said, beginning to plead, "Hinata-chan, please don't cry."

Suddenly, the frail girl wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tightly and burying her face into my collarbone. "Sakura-chan!" she wailed, most of the sound being muffled by my body, thankfully. Not knowing what else to do, I stayed in the same position as before, lying on top of her while she bawled my name into my shirt. I rubbed her head softly, feeling the silky locks running through my fingers.

I kissed her temple gently. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. F-Forgive me?" I asked, being close to crying, myself.

"Saku-chan, I – I," Hinata stuttered. I waited for a second, rubbing her more slowly. She spoke up again, "I forgive you . . . but what about I-Ino?" she asked.

I froze. _Ino._

Before I could think anymore, I got a call. I jumped at the vibration, ripping my phone out of my ass-pocket and nearly blinding the both of us as I flipped it open and answered. "What?!" I hissed.

"It's Sasuke."

"Sasuke?! I'm kind of busy right now!" I said as lowly as possible.

"Jeez, I was checking on you to see if you're okay."

I sighed, "I'm stuck in a janitor's closet with Hinata. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Better than being in the office." He said, "By the way . . I saw your _girl_ earlier today. She told me to deliver this news to you . . . " He paused, waiting for me to speak.

"Hmm?" I responded.

He sighed, "Um, well . . she wants to . . she says she has to cancel you guys' date tomorrow. I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner."

I didn't say anything.

"I'm just going to give you some alone time . . Bye Sakura-chan, " he said, hanging up.

I closed my phone and shoved it back into my pocket, not noticing how quiet Hinata had gotten. "Um, Sakura?" she asked.

"Hn?" I answered, noticeably more depressed than before.

"Are- are you okay?"

"Not particularly." I said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked.

I sighed. "It's nothing."

"I-It has to be something." Hinata insisted.

"It's nothing that you would want to hear about. Trust me." I said.

I felt Hinata nod into my shirt, giving up on the subject and just laying there. After a few minutes, she asked, "H-How long should we stay here?"

"As long as you want Hinata-chan . . as long as you want."

* * *

**To be Continued.**

**A/N: I'd like to thank the few people that reviewed the last chapter. You guys are awesome!**

**Also, I noticed that in several ino-saku fics, Kin gets either gets her ass kicked, is humiliated, or is just plain bad. I don't know why, but it just seems like everyone hates her. Funny the way it is, when you think about it, isn't it? . . Also, Death Sword, just so you know, I'm considering throwing that idea you gave into one of the later chapters. =b**


	10. Lavender and Resentment

**Lavender and Resentment**

**Update! I hope you guys like the recent plot-twist! You wanted more character development, whatever that means; I tried to give it!**

**UPDATE OF AN UPDATE!**

**I fixed a lot of the errors in the story by accidentally doing it all over again. The basic wording is 99% the same, but it wouldn't hurt to give a re-read. This is much less awkward. As a bonus, I'm currently halfway through the next chapter, which I dub, "Patch the Remains," full title being, "Patch the Remains Before They Slip Away."**

**Also, the first half is mostly the same. The middle is where I changed a few things. It's overall the same, but just more refreshing.**

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

The rest of Tuesday was uneventful. Hinata and I eventually got up the nerve to leave the closet at the end of the day and be on our ways home. Instead of walking there as I usually would, I took the bus. Hinata rode with me. We didn't say much. I had to tell the driver where to drop me off. Hinata and I got off at the same stop and said our goodbyes before walking towards our houses. I couldn't help but notice a strange look in her eyes as she turned and left. It was like she was staring right through me, and not in a bad way either. She looked nervous too, but I was used to that by now. This look was new; different.

I remembered this as I fumbled with my keys and opened the door to my house, taking in the scent of fresh sake that was in the air. I knew that only two things could come of this, those things being, one, my parents actually getting along, and two, a very violent and restless night for all three of us. I hoped for the former.

My prayers were apparently answered, as all was quiet in the house when I closed the door and padded my way into the house, being careful not to disrupt the peace. It was a rare occurrence when the wood panel flooring wasn't marred by objects crashing into it. I was grateful for this, making sure to step over the broken glass and assorted shrapnel decorating the boards on my way to my room. I looked to the kitchen on my right, seeing the culprit, an open bottle of sake on the fold-up table. My nose often did serve me true.

I turned and went inside my room, closing the door and taking off my clothes and sniffing them, just to see if they were worth throwing in the wash yet. To my surprise, I found a new scent on them. I didn't recognize it immediately. At first I shrugged it off, thinking it was merely some of the perfume that Ino often wore, and in some cases forced me to wear, but when I took a second whiff of my hoodie, it became clear that whatever the scent was, it certainly wasn't Ino's.

If I had to describe it, I'd say it was something between lavender and honeysuckle, and what a glorious scent it was. Never in all my life had I smelled something so intoxicating, not even the lemony goodness of Ino's hair, or even my favorite fabric softener; God knows I love citrus and strawberries. I shrugged and threw the clothes down, with the exception of my hoodie, which I held to my chest before I drifted off into dreamland, making a mental note to keep track of all the different scents that I came into contact with the next day.

Wednesday started out just as bland and uneventful as the day before. I woke up early, took my shower, got dressed in my usual attire, walked to school, and went to the girl's bathroom and performed my daily ritual, carving faces into the stall doors and installing random electronic devices such as bugs, pen-cams, radio controllers, etc. I didn't put any of them together, of course. A trip by a Radio Shack and some screwing around with Naruto took care of that.

When the bell rang for classes to begin, I went to first period and pretended not to give a fuck that Ino magically found herself a boyfriend. I glanced at her and shot a glare at the crowd of boys that were gathering around, especially the jackass she was cheating on me with. I watched her smiling at those bastards with envy. If only they knew how lucky they were. That stupid grin stayed on her face for quite a while, at least until she saw me. Her smiling expression instantly morphed into a sad puppy-dog face.

_Just because you can make cu- I mean putrid faces doesn't mean I should forgive you for this... _ I thought, glowering and looking away. _Sucking up from a distance__, Ino? I mean, honestly . . . _ I frowned in disgust, not caring that I hadn't exactly been faithful either. At least I didn't cheat in public, I reasoned.

"It's over." I mouthed. Ino's face dropped further. She asked the teacher to go to the bathroom. He refused, so I was forced to hear her stifled bawling, which wasn't helping my bad mood at all. I frowned, watching the crowd of boys around her attempting to 'make it better.'

My phone vibrated in my jacket pocket. I had a text. It was from Hinata. I recognized the number from the time that she and I talked when Ino had just finished pegging my giant forehead with her phone. I wasn't sure how she'd gotten my number, I assumed it was probably just Ino using poor, gullible little Hinata to force her way back onto my good side again.

I added her to my contacts, not worrying about getting my phone taken up, since Gai sensei was always preaching about the power of youth and whatnot, as well as claiming cell phones the biggest source of youth in the universe. I opened the text.

It read, _"saku-chan . . meet me in the closet"_

I quirked an eyebrow and texted back, _"k, b there in like 5 mins"_

_The closet? What could she possibly want from me in there?_ I thought, _I might as well go and find out though, seeing as I'll be stuck in here otherwise._

Without a word, I got up from my seat and left the room, not bothering to grab the hall-pass, or even paying attention to Gai sensei as he preached to the complaining students about my take-charge attitude being the most inspirational and youthful thing he'd witnessed, proceeding to give me an A+. After all, I didn't care anyway; why should I listen?

_Weirdo,_ I thought to myself, continuing to go down the long hall, past the gym and to the end of the foyer, finally coming up on the janitor's closet.

I tried the door to no avail. She locked it, I surmised.

"Open the door." I ordered.

"Wh-who is it?" Hinata's voice came from inside.

"Sakura-chan." I answered simply, "What did you want to talk about?"

Hinata cracked the door open, as if she didn't fully trust me from my voice. When she saw my face, she opened it fully, her near pupil-less squinting in the light. It was evident that she'd been in there quite some time. I stepped inside the closet with her and shut the door behind me, locking it. I stood next to her in the dark. It was a stark contrast to the near white-out conditions in the hallway. The only light in the room was coming from beneath the crack, and that wasn't nearly enough to see anything but the dim outlines of the tile adjacent to it. I listened as Hinata shifted her weight and took a deep breath.

"Sakura . . I – I wanted to ask you something."

I raised my eyebrows in interest, knowing that she couldn't see them.

She continued, "I-I've been thinking . . and well, I don't know how to say this."

About a minute of silence passed, interrupted by a sigh from Hinata. "Sakura-chan, I – I'm sorry," she whispered.

I sighed, "I told you a thousand times; it's not your fault."

I sat down on the tile, pulling Hinata down next to me and giving her a big hug. Hinata whimpered pathetically and slid into an awkward kneeling position over my lap. I rested my hands around the hem of her shirt. Hinata was tense. She shifted against me. We were cuddled up against the wall of the closet, between what I assumed was a mop bucket and some spare plywood.

"Sakura . . . I d-didn't mean it like that." She said, obviously twiddling her fingers. I could tell from how hot her face got against my shoulder. She was sitting in my lap.

I cocked an eyebrow. "How did you mean it then?"

Her body tensed further. "I – I . . . never mind." She shook her head vigorously, probably blocking out some obscure thought, one that I was sure that I knew well.

I sighed. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me."

By now, at least two bells had rung. I was sure that it was lunch period, meaning that people could do just about anything they wanted, including walking around campus and whatnot. Hinata whimpered once more, squirming around and trying to get comfortable. A few more minutes passed with the two of us in that same position, Hinata's arms around my neck and mine around her hips - God, did that girl have some hips on her. I was almost jealous.

"Hinata-chan?" I asked, resting my head against the wall in thought.

"Hn?" The raven haired girl answered.

"Do you want to go to my house?"

Hinata paused and replied quietly, "B-but we'll miss the rest of our classes, Sakura-chan!"

"What do you think we're doing right now?" I asked.

She went silent.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

She lifted her head up, "W-well, if you th-think it's a good idea-"

"Great, come on. It's only a few miles . . kilometers, or whatever." I said, hauling the two of us up and dragging her out of the dank closet, nearly blinding the both of us. "The light – it burns!" I joked, keeping a ginger hold on Hinata's hand as I led her to the nearest exit, which was on a hallway, just around the corner from where we were.

I rounded the corner with Hinata in tow, looking back every once in a while, just to make sure that I wasn't holding onto a severed arm. I was walking quite fast.

"Wh-what about our books?" Hinata asked.

I pressed on, "I'm sure they'll be fine. You and I both know that Gai and Mitarashi sensei are too lazy to throw away our crap."

"H-how'd you know that I left my bags in M-mitarashi sensei's class?" Hinata asked, desperately wanting to go back.

"Naruto gave me your schedule from the last time we hung out together. That party where you were afraid to come out of the closet because we were playing spin the bottle on his bed, remember?" I said, only half maliciously.

"O-oh…" Hinata said, embarrassed.

When we went off campus, I let go of Hinata's hand, but still kept an eye on her, insisting that she walked directly beside me. We hit a minor street later on and followed it down to where the park was. I often used to walk through it on my way home, before Ino and I were friends again. I was practically skipping down the smooth sidewalks, only occasionally glancing over to see if Hinata was there.

The girl kept up with me for the rest of the way to my house. The trek was pretty uneventful other than the whole 'trip down memory lane' vibe I was feeling. Even Hinata seemed like she was off in her own little world. When we finally got there, it was in virtually the same state as it was that morning, minus the fact that it was lacking my inebriated parents peacefully sleeping in the back room. I looked over to Hinata, who was studying the place as I struggled to find the right key. Finally, I managed to find the thing and let us in after what seemed like an eternity of fighting with the lock. We went inside.

I could definitely feel Hinata's curiosity peaking. I glanced at a note on the fridge, no doubt left by my mom. I knew before I read it that it was explained my parents wouldn't be home until Friday night or Saturday morning – something like that. Either way, I'd have lots of free time. I looked to Hinata, who was staring at our collection of family photos on the wall, half of which were of Ino and me, and not a single one with my mother and father together.

"Hinata, you want some food?" I asked, ripping the note off of the fridge and discarding it.

The girl jumped and shook her head 'no' vigorously.

"Come on then," I said, urging her to follow me into my room, or dragging her, if you will. I pulled her inside with little resistance and released my hold.

I plopped down on the bed and watched her close the door, blushing like mad. She looked more nervous than before, if that were even possible. I patted the covers, wordlessly calling her over. She blushed furiously, fidgeting with her fingers. I did the same again and she finally sat down on the bed with me, in an admittedly awkward position. When I got fed up with waiting for her to adjust, I finally just grabbed her and pulled her close as possible, not paying attention to the protesting mewls she made when I did so.

Hinata gasped, pushing against me in vain. "S-sakura-chan!"

"Hn?" I said, my lips brushing her jawline.

"We shouldn't be doing this," she whimpered, "Sakura-chan!"

"Who's doing anything, Hinata-chan?" I teased, grinning.

Hinata's eyes widened. Our lips were mere centimeters from touching.

"Just kidding!" I said, pulling away and giggling like a school girl, leaving Hinata flustered. "Aww, come on, you know I was!" I laughed, now trying, and failing to smooth it over. I was growing surprisingly more insensitive throughout the years. I sighed and sweat-dropped mentally.

_Have I always been this much of a jackass? . . . Damn._

After a few minutes, I just gave up on it and rested my head on the pillow. Our of the corner of my eye, I could see Hinata inching closer, alternating between fidgeting and blushing frequently. She continued in a pattern: watch, move, fidget, move, watch, reach out slightly, pull back, repeat. I smiled inwardly, remembering how I used to do the same with Ino when we were little. Then I frowned. I wondered if noticed.

_Damn it, Ino, get out of my head!_

I shoved thoughts of her out of my mind repetitively, forcing myself to focus on Hinata, and though I genuinely wanted to, I couldn't get her out of my head – not until the scent of lavender and honeysuckle was wafting into my nose.

"Hinata-chan?" I murmured in surprise, trying to link the wonderful smell to when and where I'd first stumbled on it. The girl jumped at the mention of her name.

"S-sakura-chan?"

I looked down to where Hinata was, her arms encasing mine, her head resting against my shoulder. There was a hint of that 'deer-in-headlights' look that she always had in her eyes, but most of it was covered up with a sort of daze that I couldn't quite place. I was sure that I'd seen it somewhere, perhaps a mirror, but I couldn't recall it at the moment.

_How cute,_ I thought. I forced my mind to change subjects, remembering that if I in deed did get out of control, it'd drive her away from me. After all, she was Hinata, born into a conceited clan with shortsighted views and narrow-minded ways. How would she come to embrace homosexuality when she was constantly trying to be the perfect little angel that her father wanted her to be? She couldn't; I was sure of it.

"Sakura-chan," she repeated, giving me one of her concerned gazes.

"Hnn? Oh," I started, realizing where I was again. "Cold?" I asked, half-seriously. After all, it was still winter, according to my temperature gauge. Since Christmas, it hadn't gotten above ten degrees celcius.

Hinata nodded. I wasn't expecting that; especially since she always wore a jacket. Instead of speaking, I grabbed the feeble covers that were bunched up behind me and threw them over us, taking the time to shut the blinds as well, making it quite dark in my room – not sure why I did that... Hinata looked at me intently, with that same stare that she gave the day before. I pulled my arm from under her and turned to face her, snaking my arm around her waist.

"Hinata-chan . . what do you want from me?" I asked, perplexed.

Hinata looked away. "Sakura-chan . . I – I think there's something wrong with me."

"Wrong? Like what?"

"I-I don't know." The girl said, gulping and trying to put an extra inch of distance between our faces.

"Well, um, you want me to turn on some music?" I asked, gesturing to the stereo system I'd had installed a few weeks back. I'd nearly forgotten that it existed in the first place. The speakers were from some overseas company in America, and while they weren't truly new, they were new to me. I hadn't tried them out, or even really done anything with them yet.

_Two points for originality, retard. Now she's going to think you're blowing her off or something, _I thought, making a mental note to buy myself a guide book on what not to say to women.

To my surprise Hinata nodded.

"One sec, I need to see if these work," I said, thinking out loud and climbing over her, leaving the covers in place so that she wouldn't freeze. It was still very cold in deed outside, the hail from days ago still littering the streets. Of course, I realized this after I tossed my jacket to the floor, only to find that it was insanely frigid.

Hinata nodded once more as I walked up to my battered dresser and cleared off the broken glass to get to the triple-deck stereo setup, complete with a tape-deck, EQ, master volume, and radio tuner. I blew away the dust and turned the volume to zero before pushing the power button. A slight hiss came from the speakers in the corners of my room. I turned the treble down a bit and set the volume at around two or three, causing the stereo to assault my ears with rap music. I quickly tuned to a different station.

Relieved, I asked Hinata what kind of music she had in mind, remembering that I had a list of local stations that Sasuke wrote down for me when I got re-gifted the system. Hinata shrugged in response, watching me fidget around, searching for a good station and messing around with the EQ and volume. I finally settled for a station with mixed metal and alternative rock, since it was the most bearable out of all of them. I was glad that they didn't play too much mainstream music either. Mainstream to me was just a boring piss off. Half the songs were revamps or stolen anyway. The current song was 'Cyanide' by the Death Stars. It was at least half-way over.

I went back to the bed and clambered over Hinata again to settle back into my original spot, tapping my toe against the footboard to the song. Hinata raised an eyebrow mixing the expression with a blush and an amused smile.

"What?" I asked, resting my head in the crook of my arm and watching her intently.

Hinata shook her head nervously, although I assumed she meant, 'Oh nothing, just that you're actually enjoying something.'

I shrugged, continuing to tap my foot until the song started to fade out, giving way to commercials. I frowned and shifted my weight more to the side, trying to ignore them. It was hard, considering that each and every one of them was of a lousy horn-dog with a tinny voice trying to advertise condoms, clubs, or some other shit. I could see Hinata blushing madly out of the corner of my eye as I began glaring daggers at the radio.

Finally, it went back to real music again, and it stayed that way, for a while. I was seriously jamming until 'Evil in a Closet' began massaging my eardrums with its greatness. It wasn't that I didn't like the song, but rather, it reminded me of myself. That notion was swiftly beaten out of my brain when I looked back to Hinata, however, who was now fidgeting with her fingers and trying to get as close to me as humanly possible. I was surprised she was daring enough not to stop when we made eye contact.

_That's unusual… Heh, I suppose she grew half a spine while I wasn't looking. _ I thought, giving a small smile and chuckle, causing her to blush even more furiously than before. She brought a finger to her mouth, which was slightly open, lips pursed in a way that was growing steadily more and more adorable, but suddenly, she paused.

"You sure nothing's wrong?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow and drawing myself a little closer to her.

Hinata made a lopsided face. It probably meant, 'what?' or something of the sort, considering that my reference was from about half a conversation ago, but I didn't feel like explaining. I decided to try my hand at being coy instead.

"Oh, so now you're giving me the cold shoulder? We can't have that now can we?" I said, nudging her with my gigantic forehead.

Hinata giggled, "Sakura-chan!"

"That's what I thought." I smiled and wrapped my arms around her gently, surprised when she did the same, although much more slowly. I kissed her cheek.

She blushed, "S-sakura-chan, don't do that!" she said with a gasp, both smiling and giggling in the process.

"Why not?" I asked, still beaming smiles. In the back of my mind, I thought, _This music is so messing with my mind… _

Hinata's face scrunched up for a second as she glanced away, chewing her lip.

"Well?"

"Um… Uh, I – I don't know, maybe, uh . . yeah," she said, stuttering.

"So I'm guessing you liked that?" I said, being as confident as possible.

I could've sworn Hinata's face turned three different shades of red.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"N-no, it's not that, it's just that-"

I cut her off, "It is that and you know it." I laughed, entertwining her legs with mine.

"No, it's just that . . I – I haven't been able to get this off of m-my mind," Hinata paused, starting to shake, " . . ever since yesterday."

Hinata looked down with shame, making me feel stupid for being so insensitive. I was pretty sure she wasn't going to say anything until she finally spoke, voice shivering uncontrollably with tears threatening to streak her cheeks as she slowly flopped over, clutching my hoodie violently, not that I didn't already know what she was going to say anyway. I managed to piece together a few words of what she said. From sheer repetition, I understood, 'Sakura, I'm sorry,' and 'Father will hate me.'

_Damn Sakura, it's official – you are a jackass. What to do, what to do?_

Not knowing what else to do, I simply stroked her hair and nuzzled her, rubbing small circles into her back, feeling like an idiot because I'd been the one to trigger all the drama this time. I sighed, continually muttering reassurances into her ear, as Ino would often do when we were younger. I forced myself not to cry as she began to sob into me.

_Fuck, Sakura- Stop thinking about Ino! Stop-it-stop-it-stop-it!_ I ordered myself, trying and failing to console the raven-haired girl in my arms as she proceeded to cling to me, spasming repeatedly. I looked to the ceiling, lying on my back as it went on.

_When will the drama end? _ I asked myself, coming close to tears as well.

"Wh-why does it have to be so hard?" Hinata wailed, shuddering and almost throwing up everywhere from all the heaving she was doing.

I started to choke, fighting back the tears that were readily welling up in my eyes. I couldn't stand to see someone as innocent as her crying, especially if it was over what I thought it was, and thanks to the tears, I couldn't stand to see at all.

"Hinata-chan, I . . I don't know. It's going to be okay, I promise," I said, squeezing her and rubbing her back vigorously.

"Y-you really think so?" Hinata whimpered looking up at me from her position on my chest, cheeks red and streaked with tears. All I could do was nod.

"Oh thank you, Sakura-chan!" Hinata squeaked, instantly cheering up, leaving me to wonder what just happened, and better yet, why the man up stairs waited until now to work his magic.

"What did I do?" I asked, wondering out loud.

Hinata simply nestled her head into my chest, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. I heard a loud grumble, causing Hinata to quickly roll off of me, blushing for the millionth time. I cocked my head at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Hungry, I'm guessing?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Come on then," I said, crawling over her and getting out of bed. When I realized she wasn't following, I turned around and saw her still in the bed, looking back at me with those mesmerizing eyes of hers, still red from crying, but beautiful nonetheless. I was falling for her, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

_And here I thought this was just going to be a weekend project fling . . . I guess surprises come in all shapes and sizes, eh?_

_**True, true, you cliché bastard, you.**_

_I thought I told you to go – oh well, I don't care anymore . . Go ahead, stay all you like, schizophrenic-manifestation-of-my-subconscious. See if I give a shit._

_**Well, at least you're somewhat civil now . . . **_

_Oh shu-_

"S-sakura-chan, are you coming?" Hinata asked, rousing me from my internal issues.

I jumped, "Oh, yeah, sure. What do you want to eat?"

Hinata shrugged, hints of nervousness blanketing her features. I left the radio on.

"Want me to fix some ramen?" I asked, hopefully.

"S-sure!" Hinata squeaked, following me to the kitchen, tiptoeing around the broken glass and appliances as we passed the wall of family pictures once more, half of them torn off the wall and lying scattered on the floor around it. I noticed her giving the group pictures more attention than others, particularly the picture with Ino's family and mine standing side by side and smiling gingerly. It nearly brought tears to my eyes to look at that photo, seeing Ino's parents hugging my own, with Ino and I holding hands in the center, smiling like there was no tomorrow. I pushed those memories out of my mind and skipped into the kitchen.

I motioned for Hinata to sit at the table while I grabbed a jumbo sized cup of ramen that I nearly tripped over. I busted the dried noodles slightly by stabbing them with a fork before filling the cup with some water and shoving it in the microwave, putting it on about two or three minutes. Hinata insisted on helping the entire time, but I made her sit back down. When there was about a minute left to cook, I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and took the cup out, stirring it with the wood. I put the cup back in and let it finish cooking before taking some paper towels and grabbing the steaming hot cup from the microwave. I sat it in the middle of the table, grabbing another pair of chopsticks for Hinata to use. She thanked me graciously.

"Careful, it's hot," I cautioned, eying the steam coming from the cup.

I sat next to her so that we could share the cup without having to make a huge mess trying to reach it. As I reached over to get some noodles our hands bumped, chopsticks clattering into the cup.

"Sorry." I said, retracting my hand. I looked to Hinata, who was blushing yet again. I huffed, "Aww, don't get all embarrassed; you're making me feel like I did something wrong."

"S-sorry," Hinata muttered, beginning to tentatively reach out to the cup, glancing from it, to me, then back again. I gave her a smile and a wink as she clumsily grabbed her chopsticks. I followed suit, looking up at the raven haired girl before grabbing myself some noodles and shoving them into my mouth. Hinata hesitated at first, but eventually, she got comfortable enough that I didn't have to constantly smile to get her to eat. I was relieved, although I did think it was cute.

Minutes later, we finished the instant ramen. There was still some broth left in the cup. Hinata grabbed the cup and tipped it back to her mouth. I cocked an eyebrow.

"You're not going to throw that away?" I asked incredulously.

Hinata paused, "W-well, I-I don't like to waste . . I-I can throw it away if you want." The poor girl looked mortified.

I shrugged. "Your choice."

I turned and took our chopsticks to the sink, watching her out of the corner of my eye as she drank the broth. How she managed to stand that crap, I had no idea, but I hoped she chewed some gum afterwards before she came into my room with me. I shrugged to myself and started going back to my bed, hearing her throw the ramen cup away and start to follow as I plopped down into the covers once again. Hinata was soon to follow, sporting a pack of gum, as I had hoped. We took our respective sides on the bed, sliding underneath the purple-plaid sheets together.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

Hinata nodded, "Y-yeah." She was still blushing just as hard as she was earlier. I wonder if her cheeks ever got tired of staying flushed like that. I giggled at the thought.

"Good." I smiled, re-intertwining our bodies, causing Hinata's blush to spread to the furthest reaches of her form. I laid a hand on her side, touching my forehead to hers. Her eyes widened, and I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was, or at least something similar.

Hinata gulped. I decided on taking a chance.

"Do you trust me?" I whispered, feeling the blood beginning to rush to my head.

_Oh boy . . . Nervous – not good! Not good!_

_**Why are you nervous? You don't even know if you like her!**_

_Shut up! Either way, this moment is too cute to waste; I might ne-_ My mind was pulled back to the real world again before I could finish the thought.

"I-I think so." She whimpered, gulping again, resting a hand on my arm.

"I think so isn't good enough," I said, "You have to be sure." I encouraged as I leaned in slightly, our lips nearly touching. My hair was standing on end.

"U-um, yes?" Hinata muttered.

"Then I guess I can to this." I whispered, closing my eyes and pressing my lips against hers lightly, noting how soft they were. Hinata's eyelashes fluttered against my cheeks, sending little electric charges down my spine. It didn't last long. Three seconds and I was back to staring her in the face again, breathing slightly harder than before. Never in my life had I seen her face so red, and damn did it feel good.

For a moment, I didn't dare move an inch, savoring the taste of her chapstick on my lips. If I'd used some tongue, I could have probably gotten laid if I wanted to, but alas, I figured that a quick and chaste smooch or two would be a good start. After all, it's better to take it slow than end up not getting anything at all. Hinata's mouth hung open, her hands still resting near my sides, eyes lidded and glossy. With that, all my figuring went out of the window. I leaned in again, stopping just before our lips met and pushing her onto her back.

Her short locks spread out beneath her on the bed. I gave her a reassuring smile, but when I tried to move forward, a palm to the collarbone stopped me. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, my voice squeaked and made a crackling noise.

"Sakura-chan" Hinata half-murmured, half-moaned, pushing me to the side and down into the bed, rolling over on top of me.

"Is this supposed to be a message to me that we shouldn't be doing this?" I asked, half-seriously.

Hinata shrugged, yawning and nuzzling me, signaling that she wanted sleep. I sighed, slightly annoyed, and wrapped my arms around her. I wasn't sleepy in the slightest. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Author's note: I'd like to apologize to my readers about the HUGE delay in updating and improving chapters. I hope to revamp all of them soon, since I plan to eventually publish them for my friends so they won't have to go online to read them. Exams and all isn't exactly helping with this. I should have the next chapter up very soon though, as a small consolation. I promise to give it my all. :)**


	11. Thursday is for Thunder

**Okay, so I finally updated the story. Sorry about the little title discrepancy here, but this sort of just popped up in my head after I discovered a lost file. It really helps the flow, rather than me just going from big drama to bigger drama, to HUGE drama. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

**EDIT: fixed formatting problems. Sorry for the needless update. **

**

* * *

**The rest of the night was just as boring as the day that had preceded it, with not a wink of rest to speak of. I crawled out of bed at around two AM to go the bathroom, then went back. I couldn't sleep. Hinata was cute and all, but I just couldn't do it. It was like Chinese water torture, except I wasn't tied up on the floor with a dripping bucket over my head. I felt like bashing my face into the mirror, as if that would help anything. Though, if I did and I started bleeding enough, I could pass out and get some Z's. I pushed the thought out of my head before I did anything stupid. Then, out of the blue, I heard the buzzing.

I patted around my butt, trying to find the source, my phone, until I realized that I was only wearing boxers and my pants were on the other side of the room. Reluctantly, I clambered out of bed again and went over to the wad of denim. I grabbed the hunk of plastic and flipped it open, cursing under my breath.

"I swear to God, Sasuke, if you're calling me at this hour, I'm going to march my ass down to Hot Topic tomorrow and beat you to a bloody pulp."

A small envelope flashed on the screen and I forced myself not to snap the thing in half as I opened it. It was Naruto. I sighed, "What does this loser want now?"

The message answered that question for me:

_Hey saku, you wanna go sumwere tonite?_

I hit the reply button and typed in a response, muttering as I did so. "Go somewhere? It's two in the morning. Where could I possibly want to go this early? . . Back to bed, that's where."

His response came quickly, reading:

_idk, sry but i just thought u mite wanna go to a party or sumthin_

I replied for him to call me back in a minute or two, going to the bathroom. I figured the sooner I got it over with, the better. As expected, after I'd finished slashing some water in my face to wake up a little more, Naruto's ringtone played. I answered almost instantly.

"What is it Narutard?" I asked, sounding much more alert than I'd expected.

He laughed, "I was just wondering if you might wanna come to my house for a bit. We could go to a party tomorrow and like . . skip school and stuff." He sounded really happy about the whole thing.

"Well, Hinata's sort of over at my house and I probably need to be home for the next few days. You know how my side of the neighborhood gets." I paused, "Where'd you hear about a party anyway?"

"Well, I just finished talking to Sasuke like . . ten minutes ago and he said there was going to be this huge party on the east side of town. I wanted to ask you though." I couldn't help but laugh.

I changed the subject, "Yeah, have you guys even talked in person yet?"

He chuckled embarrassedly, "Um . . no, actually. He sorta just calls me . . a lot. When we get so school he's always busy kicking the crap out of Lee and this Neji asshole, so we don't really talk much."

"Sasuke kicking someone's ass? That's a new one... and since when did you let anyone beat up on your lovemuffin?" I asked, joking.

I could almost see him shrugging on the other end as he said, "Eh, I dunno. I don't even think Lee likes me. Why should I care that Sasuke beats him up all the time?"

I made my voice as sarcastic as possible. "I dunno. You don't suppose those two events could be related?"

"No, why would they be?" He asked stupidly.

I sighed, "Sasuke likes you, dumb ass. It's obvious."

"You really think so?" He sounded excited.

"Yes, Naruto, I _really_ think so," I repeated. The girlish squeal on the other end confirmed that he got the message.

He was giggling like a school girl. "This is so awesome! I've never been liked before!"

"Yeah, yeah. So do you want me to come over in the morning or what? I can't just leave Hinata here all alone." I sat down on the floor, seeing as the conversation probably wouldn't be ending any time soon.

"That'd be great. You wanna stay home and play video games instead of going to the party? . . or maybe invite Sasuke over?" I imagined him in the same situation as me, sitting in the middle of a tiny room, playing with his hair and switching hands with the phone every few minutes.

"Sounds good to me," I said, yawning, "You guys better be prepared to get an ass kicking when we break out Guitar Hero though... or Rock Band . . I fucking own at that game."

He laughed, "Yeah. Bring some ramen. I ran out last week and all the maid cooks is this rice and butter crap. It's not like I don't like rice, but I just want some freaking ramen!"

"Kay, but all I got is chicken flavored. Me and Hinata ate all the beef kind last night. Sorry about that."

"It's cool. Any ramen is good ramen."

I smiled, agreeing, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Ino likes all that western stuff, but not me." I caught myself before I said anything else. The awkwardness of the moment made me frown.

It was about a minute before Naruto said anything again. "So Sakura, you really think he likes me?"

I brought a hand to my forehead, annoyed at having to repeat myself so many times. "Yes, Naruto, I'm sure that he _really _likes you."

"Wow . . Well, I guess it's better than nobody liking me." He chuckled, "So how're you going to get Hinata home? I can get the maid to drive her to school and pick her up later, if that's cool with you."

My hand returned to its previous activity of chin stroking as I spoke. "Fine with me. She'll drop me off at your place first, right? . . or she could just bring her over too and we could all play Rock Band. That would be nice."

He piped up, "That's a great idea! Sakura, you're a genius!"

"I know, I know, but if I don't get some sleep, I'll be braindead. Tell the maid to come by at about six. Tell her to wait as long as it takes . . and blow the horn.. hard. I'll hide the bike in the back yard..."

At that moment, he burst into a fit of giggles.

"What?"

I could swear he was crying. "Sorry Sakura, that was just hilarious. I'll talk to you later, okay? I gotta call Sasuke anyway."

"Yeah, bye Naruto."

"Bye Sakura-kun."

I flipped the phone closed and got up to walk back to my room again, smiling. Hinata was still asleep as I sneaked my way under the covers. Purplish light filtered in through my window as I closed my eyes and finally fell into dream world. My sleep was rather peaceful that night, warm and comforting – unusual, but comforting nonetheless.. until the dreams started rolling around.

* * *

"_Sakura-chan . . Sakura-chan, wake up," a light voice called to me. The world was black, and I had a vague sense of floating. "It's me, come on . . wake up!"_

_I felt hands gripping my shoulders. Someone was straddling me. My face was hot, but I couldn't open my eyes. Over and over, they tried to rouse me. I tried to speak, but nothing happened. I could hear the sound of running water and a vague sense of heaviness, like I was made of lead. Then there was the sense of being wet, not to mention cold. I would've figured it was some sort of strange 'mense' dream, but the fact that I knew I was dreaming stood against that possibility. A loud honking noise blared in some far off universe, echoing._

"_Sakura, come on, get up! It's cold and I want to go inside!" the feminine utterance washed over my ears like the ocean over a sandy beach front. I knew that voice._

_Almost as if by accident, my mouth spoke of its own accord. "Ino, how did you get here?"_

_Her dainty laugh shadowed my question as if the answer was entirely simple, her hair brushing my cheek as she spoke. "How did I get here? I could ask you the same thing. Now open your eyes, sleepy head!"_

_I let out a breath, relaxing into the sopping wet texture that I believed to be ground. "I can't."_

"_You can't?" She laughed at this too, playing along. "Of course you can. Just give it a try – and hurry up, the bed's getting all wet. You should really close your window."_

"_Huh?" I asked, thoroughly confused. Ino was always one for nonsensical bullshit._

_My world was instantly filled with color, leaving me looking up at an amused and slightly concerned Ino. She quirked an eyebrow. "Sakura, it's raining and you really need to wake up. Hinata doesn't know CPR; she can't save you if you start drowning in your blankets, you know."_

_I squinted vigorously. Ino's hair seemed to be doing a Medusa, like someone turned on an industrial grade fan and twisted it around multiple little airplane propellers. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_Ino opened her mouth to speak, but the only sound was that of a very large, obnoxious horn. I cringed, but she didn't seem to mind. She smiled, saying, "What I meant to say was, you should really get up now. I'm pretty sure that was your ride. Good luck, Sakura."_

"_W-wait! Ino!" I called, but then she was gone._

_

* * *

_

I opened my eyes to a very unpleasant scene. Just like Ino had said, it was raining outside and water was pouring into my window like the falls of Shomyo-daki. Hinata was above me, shaking me awake, and my alarm clock was beeping repeatedly. I groaned, sloughing off the wet covers. It was going to be a long morning. I told Hinata to go ahead and pick some clothes to wear from my closet as I wobbled my way over to the window to grab the undoubtedly soaked phone. I saw Naruto waiting down below in the maid's car. Sasuke was probably in the back. I sent him a text that I'd be down in a minute or two and shut the window. Was it open last night, or was I just going crazy?

I sighed, walking over to where Hinata was standing, _So much for hiding the bike... _

"W-who's that d-down there?" she asked, filing through the rack with me.

I grabbed a pair of black pants before answering, "It's Naruto and the maid. I was gonna tell you last night, but I'm going to his house today. You were just too cute for me to wake up." She blushed at the compliment before returning to the rack again. I slipped the pants on and plucked a random shirt from the mess, turning around and tossing the ones I had been wearing on the floor. As I was putting it on, my phone buzzed. I squeezed into a hoodie and picked it up. It was Naruto. I didn't bother reading it, but instead went back to the bathroom. Hinata followed.

"What am I s-supposed to do, Sakura-chan?" she inquired sheepishly.

I shrugged, offering as I started to brush my teeth, "You can come along if you want. Naruto wants to play Rock Band and we could always use a singer."

Her face lit up, but she hid it quickly. "B-but Sakura, I c-can't really s-skip school, c-can I?"

"Pfft, Hinata, you haven't missed a day in like three years. A little skipping here and there isn't going to hurt anything. Besides, it's getting close to Golden Week – nobody cares about school this time of year." I rinsed out my toothbrush and splashed my face with some water. Hinata was next in line to do the morning ritual as I finished up, combing my hair. She did the same and followed me to the car.

"So I take it you're going to Naruto's with me?" I asked, opening the car door for her. She nodded and sat next to Sasuke, who was texting some guy about why he wasn't going to the party. I read all about it while I was busy cramming myself into that tin can. My mind wandered as the maid started the car, going from Naruto's unnatural hairstyle, Sasuke's nose, the deformed trees on the side of the road, Hinata's 'assets,' the carpet, all the way to the maid's new manicure, which made her all the prettier. For a live-in housekeeper, she wasn't half bad. She looked so young. You wouldn't guess that she'd been taking care of Naruto for nearly a decade and a half. I wondered if she knew about the time me and Naruto drove all over town to get Ino that one time. That would be a real pisser.

Her name was Shizune, and by my estimate, she had to be about thirty or so; there wasn't a single grey hair on her head, and I looked hard, believe me. Nope, nothing but a sea of black, that's all. She was quite the mystery, I tell you, made all the more interesting by my extreme boredom and obsessive compulsive tendencies, not to mention all the weird circumstances just floating around, waiting to be exploited. Naruto was always talking about how she was friends with his 'grandma,' Tsunade, and how it was such a sweet deal because he ended up getting spoiled like hell... and then there was the of how those two names always came up on the subject of lesbians and titties, our favorite conversation topic, incidentally. The thought of that made me laugh, and I laughed _hard,_ so hard that Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and the maid all looked at me like I was crazy. I just shrugged sheepishly. The moment soon passed, leaving me to my inner ramblings. Hinata's hand played with mine loosely.

_So . . Shizune's _probably _a closet bisexual and Naruto's grandma talks to Hinata's dad . . who's coincidentally the principal of my school... What an interesting life I live..._

**_Fantasizing about your best friend's mother figure? Someone's got their mind in the gutter._**

_You again? _I thought, rolling my eyes.

It made a chortling sort of noise. _Yes, it's me again. Who else would enjoy tormenting you like this?_

_Hmm... Oh, about two thirds of the population, apparently. Could you spare me some peace, just once? _I rested my head on the window and squeezed my eyes shut. We were about five minutes from Naruto's house by now.

**_You always say that._**

_Shut up._

Before the thing could respond, Shizune interrupted with a worried look. "Sakura, are you alright?" she asked.

"Hnn?" I raised my head, "Oh, yeah, just a little sleepy." It was only a half lie. She didn't seem to buy it.

**_The 'sleepy' lie again? What is this, your staple? _**The thing asked. I could imagine it just staring at me, crossing its arms and making faces, just to piss me off.

I sighed again, _Yes, now would you leave me the hell alone, please?_

"Oh, well, let me know if you need anything," she chirped, returning back to her quiet driving state.

I replied, "Sure thing, nee-san," thankful that the annoying voice had finally decided to stop, but just when I thought it was over, something else happened.

Sasuke spewed the remainder of his morning frappé into his lap, "Woah, woah, woah. Since when did you call anyone '_nee_-san?'"

I glared at Sasuke, "What? Something wrong with showing people affection?" Naruto turned around in his seat, obviously agreeing with him. I sighed, "Come on, you too? I call you guys 'kun' all the time and that's normal. Why can't I call her 'nee-san?'" Shizune chuckled to herself up front. Everyone else went silent for a moment

"I – I think it's n-normal, Sakura-san," Hinata said, twiddling her fingers.

I huffed, "See? Hinata here lives in the real world, unlike – wait a minute . . Since when was I 'Sakura-san?' We're supposed to be friends, not acquaintances. Sheesh, it's not like we're at school."

"I could change that, you know," Shizune said, grinning like she'd made the funniest joke of the century.

* * *

"Haha, I finally got your ass!" Bright videogame lights flashed around the room as cheesy fight music and punching noises delivered sheer punishment to Naruto's surround-sound system.

"Yeah, right after I kicked you through a fucking canyon. Talk about lame-ass comebacks. Anything else, mister anticlimactic-san?"

Shizune tiptoed past the screen as quickly as she could, picking up empty soda cans. "Weren't you guys supposed to be playing Rock Band?" she suggested, "I overheard you and Sakura talking about it earlier this morning."

"Yeah, actually, we were," I said, sitting on the end of the couch. Naruto and Sasuke were playing another one of his Dragon Ball Z games. I was pretty sure that it was one from the Tenkaichi series. Sasuke was failing miserably, but I had to give it to him; at least he tried. I would've given up hours ago.

Naruto agreed, "Uh-huh. Wanna pop it in? I'm getting kinda bored."

"Hey! What're you trying to say?" Sasuke yelled at Naruto, "I could so totally kick your ass if this was a Wii game!"

"Yeah, yeah, quit your whining," he said, "So, Sakura, are you gonna get the game or not?"

"Sure," I got up and walked over to the PS3, "Sasuke, get the controllers."

"Where are they?" he asked.

I pointed to the corner and started prying on the tray. As if just getting the disk out wasn't hard enough already, the eject button was broken on the system. "Naruto, I know you don't like people thinking you're rich and all, but you could at least pay to have this thing fixed."

He said something, but the standard PS3 theme drowned it out when I finally got the thing open. Just like I thought, DBZ Tenkaichi 3, one of our all time favorites. I laid it on the coffee table and started going through the muddle of cases on the floor. There had to be at least a hundred of them scattered around. "Naruto, haven't you heard of alphabetical order?" I yelled over my shoulder, "Hinata, I kind of need some help over here... Hinata?"

A form bumped into me from behind and knelt over the pile. I assumed it was her, still flipping through cases frantically. I noticed her starting to stack them out of the corner of my eye.

"Jeez Hinata, I didn't know you were OCD," I said, trying to lighten the mood a little. She had to be miserable, what with her not being included in anything and all.

"Hinata went to the bathroom."

"Huh?" I blinked, _Since when did Hinata speak in third person, not stutter, and talk about personal matters?_ Then I noticed the manicure. "Oh. Sorry about that."

She shook her head, "No, it's fine. I'm glad I could be mistaken for someone young and beautiful."

"Eh, don't worry about that too much. You're pretty cute yourself." I laughed, picking up the stack of games that she'd just knocked over. I must've startled her a bit. Still, she looked sort of down.

"Just cute, huh?"

I put my hand on her shoulder, "Hey, don't go comparing yourself to other people. If there's one thing that I've learned, there's always going to be someone who's just a little better, and that's going to sting like hell until you teach yourself to stop looking at them and move on. Besides, for a chick that doesn't wear make up, you pull it off pretty nicely." I laughed, "As for compliments, keep in mind that you're asking a pessimist here. 'Cute' is about as far as I go. Most people are lucky to get an 'okay,' so don't sweat it, alright?"

She smiled, nodding. She seemed a lot happier. In fact, she went through the cases twice as fast as she had before. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Rock Band and Tenkaichi 3 came up.

I sighed mentally, _Damn, pep-talks is something I thought I'd never do... Weird . . and did I just call Shizune pretty? . . even weirder... and since when did I talk like that? . . I hope this Tsunade chick that everyone seems to like so much doesn't mind, haha._

After I was done thinking, Shizune had already found the cases, swapped the games, and started cleaning the filth we'd accumulated in the living room since we'd arrived. I went and sat back on the couch with Sasuke and Naruto, waiting on the game to load. By the time it did, Shizune was stretched out between us and the living room was practically spotless. It was amazing.

I propped my feet as the disk spun up to load the character models on screen. "Hey guys, where'd the drum set go?" I asked, noting its presence, or lack thereof.

Naruto shrugged. "Sasuke?"

"I didn't find it," he answered, standing up and slipping a guitar controller over his shoulders. Naruto looked around the living room and shrugged.

"Did you check his room?" Shizune asked, uncomfortably close to bursting my personal space bubble as she sprawled lazily over the cushions.

"Sasuke, can you _please _go get it?" I asked, not wanting to do it myself. The last time was enough of a disaster. My nose was running for weeks.

"Could you?"

I nearly spewed my coke, "And leave you two alone? Not happening." I tapped my foot against the table for emphasis. Naruto just giggled.

"Hey, Shizune-san's here - we won't be alone!" Naruto said.

"Not a chance in hell. I know how tricky you guys get."

"Well, I'm not going up there. Those stairs are probably made of greased glass or something." He crossed his arms and made a sullen face. The start screen appeared on the TV screen.

Now, I smiled. I knew this was going to be good. "Yeah, the last thing you need is more stuff to cut yourself with, huh?" I said, and with that, I laughed, Naruto cried, and Shizune spilled her tea on my foot, but I didn't care.

"No fair! That's not even funny!" Sasuke shouted, jumping up and down like an angry chimp.

I waved it off, "Come on, you set yourself up for that one and you know it. Now go get the damn thing, scaredy cat."

"No way."

"You know the stairs are made of wood, right?" I asked, still giggling.

"Shut up."

* * *

I'd ended up being the one to get the drum set. Somehow, I convinced myself to go up and grab the thing, which is funny, considering that last time when this happened, I was afraid to even open the door. Naruto's room reeked of old gym socks and beef bouillon. I had to hold my breath. I snagged the plastic drums and dashed out as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I didn't trip over my feet on the way down. When I got back, Naruto and Sasuke were already playing a song. Hinata was sitting on the couch. I sat down next to her and turned on the wireless controller.

Naruto and Sasuke both screamed as the sign in screen popped up and paused the song. I grabbed the sticks and spammed the green drum head until it went off and and a new track sprouted in the center, hoping for the best.

"What song is this?" I asked over the music.

Naruto shrugged up front, "I dunno, something by Metallica. The drum part is impossible on expert."

I gulped, looking down at the set. At least it had two petals, so I had a small chance of making it. The beginnings of what would become my worst gaming nightmare peeked from the top of the screen. When the time came for me to start actually playing, I struggled to keep up with the flurry of notes. Not to mention, as with all the Rock Band games, accuracy was definitely an issue. By the time the song ended, I'd failed at least twice. Thankfully there was a big break in the middle, or there would've been more than that. The animation sequence ended quickly and our scores were on display for all to see. I was surprised by the results, to say the least.

"Eighty-nine percent?" I gaped, "More like thirty. I sucked!"

Sasuke made a dismissive noise, "Right, and I could _totally_ do better . . Yeah, when pigs fly."

"I think Ton-ton has that covered," Naruto said, "Then again, I've never seen that happen."

"Who?"

"Tsunade and Shizune's pig thing... don't ask," he said sheepishly.

"We won't."

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe I'm doing this," I said, walking arm in arm with the others.

Sasuke sighed, "I can't believe you're doing this. I thought you were gonna go crazy when we asked you."

"Me too, I mean like, usually, you're all like 'no I don-wanna go to da mall' or 'oh my god I'm like gonna kill you man,'" Naruto added, unlinking his arms to make claw-like gestures. The mexican accent added a strangely adorable light to the situation. We all laughed.

"Hey, I'm not really like that am I?" I asked, genuinely curious.

Sasuke shoved his hands back into his pockets, answering in his casual voice, "Um, yeah, pretty much."

"That's a lie."

Naruto sighed, "No, he's right, you act like Iruka on coke usually . . or maybe just Anko."

"Definitely Anko," Sasuke stated matter of factly, spawning an annoying conversation between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Yeah, definitely Anko." Naruto agreed. I started to fume.

"Totally."

_Here comes the list, I just know it._

And just like I thought, Naruto went and did it. "Yeah. I mean, you're angry, socially awkward, strange, demented, perverted, criminally insa-"

"Would you just cut the crap already?" I yelled.

The rest of our walk was pretty boring, besides the whole banter, banter, girly scream pattern. We arrived at the mall just in time to catch the 'rush hour' traffic. The whole place was crowded with people. I winced, hoping that none of us got lost. Other than that, it was rather pleasant. Of course, we went to Hot Topic, as always. I was surprised to see who was behind the counter. Naruto jumped for joy, greeting the boy enthusiastically. It was none other than Kiba Inuzuka. In the back, I could see a red headed boy, sulking. He looked familiar.

Kiba grinned smugly as I approached the counter with Sasuke and Hinata in tow. "And what can I do you lovely ladies for?" he asked, smirking widely at Sasuke's face.

I sighed, "Oh please, spare me the booty calls, Fido. I just want some new pants, not someone _in_ my pants." Kiba looked like he didn't know whether to be hurt or afraid. "Relax, I was just kidding. Damn, can't you people take a joke?"

"Geez, don't be such a femi-nazi, Sakura. It's kinda creepy when you do that... So what about those pants? You gonna need some help with those?" He asked, his previous smirk returning to his face.

I laughed, "Nice try, dog-boy. I'm pretty sure I can find a pair of jeans just fine on my own. Save the puppy love for Akamaru, or whatever that mangy mutt of yours is."

"Jerk ass," he muttered as I turned away.

"I heard that."

With that, I made my way to the racks, beginning my ritual flipping. As usual, I'd already bought all of the clothes that I could afford. There were no clearance sales today, unfortunately. That didn't mean that anyone else had to know that though. I jumped a little as Hinata came to stand beside me.

"H-hi, Sakura-chan," she murmured sheepishly.

"Hi Hinata-chan," I answered, smiling at her. She looked away, as usual. "You feeling okay? You look a little . . sad," I said, for lack of a better word.

"Y-yeah," she replied, looking down, "I – I just feel like . . that maybe I shouldn't be here."

My face contorted itself on its own, twisting into some complicated expression that I didn't understand, or care about for that matter. I asked, "Why not?"

If I thought she couldn't put her head down any further, I was wrong. "I feel like I'm stealing."

"Stealing what?" Now I was just confused.

She paused, looking me in the eyes. "You."

I didn't know what to say.

**_Well, this is going to be an awkward subject later on tonight._**

I sighed, _Would you just leave me the hell alone already? I have enough problems without you!_

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

* * *

There wasn't much to say during the rest of our shopping mall excursion, at least on my part. The Hot Topic incident sort of ruined it for me. I'd been silent for about an hour and a half since. I'd catch Naruto and Sasuke giving me worried glances every now and then. Hinata was trying her best to avoid eye contact. It was getting a little creepy.

I caught Naruto staring at me for the fifth time in the last three minutes. We were at the Starbucks across from Joe Muggs together. It all started when we ordered our drinks. Everyone else got frappes, but not me. Even the cashier noticed when I ordered a simple black coffee, no sugar. She looked at me like I'd just shaved my eyebrows. I ignored the looks and sat down at the table with the others, sipping on my disgusting drink.

"Sakura, are you . . alright?" Sasuke asked, eying my cup. I wanted to puke.

I nodded, trying to put on a happier face, "Yeah, sure, I'm fine. I'm always fine." It didn't come out how I'd wanted.

"You're sure? I mean, I can call someone to get you, if you want," he said, making a bit of a sour face afterward, the kind when you really want to slap yourself after you've just said something stupid. Maybe it didn't come out how he'd wanted either.

"I'm sure. I'm just tired is all," I said. It was a nice little white lie; he bought it. Naruto didn't look so sure though.

He stood up from the table, grabbing his frappe and yawning, "Yeah, me too. It's getting late. We should probably start walking home." Hinata looked relieved. I took another swig of liquid crap, making a mental note to grab some sugar packets on the way out. I didn't want to have twenty-four ounces of unsweetened black coffee in my fridge for five months. I knew how that went last time. It wasn't pretty, especially after the bottom of the cup broke and I didn't have anything to clean it up with. I woke up the next morning with my head caught in a folding chair.

"Naruto, it's only six," Sasuke said.

He shrugged, "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Hinata needs to get back to her house before it gets dark or something, right?"

Hinata was about to say no, but I cut in, "Yeah . . right." It wasn't very convincing.

"It won't be dark until eight... and she's been going home with Sakura for like . . a week."

I bit my lip. Sasuke was indeed one of the sharper tacks in the box.

Naruto did the same, glancing around, "Well . . uh, it could storm – the weather man said so this morning!" And that brought a smile to my face. I loved Naruto, always coming up with excuses on my part, no matter how hopelessly ridiculous. Sasuke didn't seem pleased.

"He's right," another voice chimed, just in time to cut him off mid sentence. I recognized it as Kiba's. The brute continued, somehow having the nerve to slip his arm over my shoulder, "Hey guys, I just got off my shift and figured I might grab a few coffees before the big storm tonight rolls in. It's gonna be one hell of a flood."

I shrugged it off, swallowing down another gulp disdainfully, "And getting coffee just so happens to require you invading my personal space? Really, Kiba? Really?"

He laughed it off, "So you call me by name now? That's an improvement. I was serious about the storm thing though." He turned his attention to Naruto, "You guys really should be getting home. I know to hell that's where I'm going. Screw my other job. I don't wanna be stuck up here all night without my trusty buddy Akamaru."

"I know what you mean," Naruto replied, pulling Sasuke up into the little circle we'd managed to form. "How'd you know we were over here?"

"It was sort of obvious. I could hear you guys screaming at each other from a mile away. How could I not know?" He asked, grinning.

"Yeah, and the next time this happens, Naruto, I'm getting you a muzzle," I said, looking pointedly at Kiba.

"What did I do?" the blonde asked, flipping out.

I didn't answer, loving how Sasuke seemed to be the only normal person in the room. Kiba ruffled his hair, "I guess I'll see you guys next time then, right?"

"Sure, whatever floats your boat there, dog-boy," I said. He gave a wave before getting in the already growing line. "So I guess we're leaving now, right?" I asked. Naruto and Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah," Sasuke droned, "You're lucky I have to fix my hair now or I'd still be sitting here. Thank slobber-tard for that."

Hinata put a hand over her mouth in amusement.

"So, are we leaving or what?" Naruto asked. I dumped an entire cup of sweetener packets into my hoodie.

"Yeah." I lead the way, but when we got to the exit, I was pissed to find that it was already raining. I thought about walking home in it, but it was _really_ pouring down. I stopped out under the glass dome, looking back to my friends. Sasuke and Hinata stared at the sky, mouths open. Naruto was gaping at the water splashing onto the street.

"Wow... That is a _lot_ of water." Sasuke said.

"Uh-huh," I chewed my cheek, "We're supposed to walk home in this?"

"No way. Like you said, not a chance in hell."

"This is just like . . Wow."

"Yeah."

"Naruto, call Shizune . . and tell her to bring a boat."

It would've been funnier if I'd said that during a 'normal' rain session, but not a full blown deluge. It wasn't just raining cats and dogs, no, more like cars and trucks and road signs. I was really, really happy when Naruto finally got Shizune on the phone, and I was even happier when I got home and Hinata and I settled in bed together later that night. My parents would be home soon, but even if they found me like this, I didn't care. It would be awkward - and probably violent, but it'd be okay in the end. Those were the last thoughts in my head as I relaxed and fell asleep.

* * *

**Ending note:**

**Sorry about any format problems with this and the next update. I've been having lots of problems with my PC and file transferring is getting to be hell. I'm trying to keep the editing better though and improve. I thank all of you that are still following the story, and just for your loyalty, I'm updating twice in one day.. or week.. or whatever. :)**

**Tell me if you spot any errors! I had to stop writing several times because I was so tired that I couldn't see anything! **

**Cheers!**


	12. Quick Change Artist

**Kay guys, I'm pretty sure I won't have to edit this ten times like I did the last chapter. I'm sorry about that by the way; I've been having tons of formatting problems lately. After this, it might be a little while before I do another update, since I plan to go back and revamp chaps for a more consistent format and cleaned up grammar, etc.**

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

I woke up to yet another one of the morning phone-calls that had become so routine and customary as of late. I cracked my eyes open, annoyed to find out that even Mr. Sun was too good to wake up at this hour. My skull was aching as I sloughed off the arm hanging around my neck to take a peek at the clock. The only thought in my mind was that it was too damn early for this. I grabbed my phone out of my pants-pocket, grumbling the best 'shut up' I could manage at the moment. It was three AM. I flipped the phone open disdainfully and put it to my ear.

"What," I growled. It was more of a stab than a question. The person on the other end made a cringing sort of noise.

"Sakura?" It was a female voice, a familiar one, I might add.

I groaned, unable to recognize it in my current state. "None other, you've reached the Haruno hell-hole hotline. To whom the fuck am I speaking?" I asked, thoroughly annoyed.

She sighed, "It's Ino."

"Great, just who I _didn't _want to be talking to at three in the morning. It could've been Sasuke, but _no_ it has to be _you._ I thought we went through this already." I ran a hand through my hair, giving up on getting any sleep for the rest of the night.

"Look, Sakura, I just want to talk," she said. Her voice cracked. It sounded like she'd been crying.

_Serves her right for cheating on me, damnit. Who the hell does she think she is, calling me in the fucking wee hours of the morning? Does she want me to become a serial killer?_

I gritted my teeth, "You could've talked to me – before you ditched me for some guy. You could have, but you didn't, and now you expect me to just sit back and pretend like everything's okay? . . Well it isn't, and I'm not going to pretend. You can forget about that."

Now she definitely sounded like she was crying. "Sakura, please."

I let out a loud exhale, too tired to refuse. As much as I wanted to hang up, I couldn't bring myself to make the effort. After all, if I was too tired to hold the phone to my head, I was too tired to bring my hand up to end a call. The logic was perfect.

"Fine, but this better be over with before Hinata wakes up," I replied. The silence on the other end when I mentioned Hinata's name was deafeningly clear. Then it happened.

"Y-you slept with Hinata?" The half-wail, half-scream nearly pierced my eardrums. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the phone was on speaker. I broke my logic without a second thought, clutching my temple in hand as I clambered out of bed. I stubbed my toe on the way out of my room. Cursing indignantly, I decided to reply. Somehow, I managed to sound calm and recollected, unlike usual.

"No, I haven't, Ino," I answered as I tried to regain my composure, letting out another breath. I straightened up, glad that Hinata still hadn't stirred in the slightest. My head was still pounding from earlier. I heard sounds of relief on the other end as I closed the door. I sighed. Half-consciousness was really catching up to me. "Is this all you wanted to talk about?" I asked, although less venomously than I'd hoped.

A muffled brushing sort of noise came through the line, which I assumed to be her flipping her hair, as she often did when frustrated. She took a deep breath and spoke, "Look, all I wanted to say is that I'm sorry, okay?"

To be honest, it was believable, but I had to at least pretend that I wasn't as gullible as I looked. I needed to keep my pride, one of the last things I had left. Besides, I reasoned, she was probably just going to step all over my ego later anyways.

I huffed, "Yeah, right. If you were sorry, you wouldn't be with _him. _You're always leaving me for these losers – all the time! It doesn't matter what I do, you fuck with my emotions anyway." By now I was in the bathroom, practically screaming at the phone. I continued, "If you cared about me at all, you wouldn't be such a two-faced bitch, and dammit, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!" I panted until I caught my breath again, leaving silence in my wake. The thought of her and that boy sickened me.

Seconds later, another loud exhale came through the line. "Sakura, I dumped him yesterday morning." Her voice was failing as she choked back a sob. I didn't know what to say; she kept talking, "Gaara, that guy that never talks to anyone, him and that kid with the puppets and make-up, they asked me out. I said no to both of them, but they kept coming back. At first it was just them, but then it got worse. They started following me around in the mornings before school – a big crowd of them. They wouldn't leave me alone until I went with them!" She finished the sentence with a sniffle. My jaw dropped. I knew exactly who she was talking about – the kids from the 'sand-castle village,' or wherever the hell they came from, and their lackeys. How could I have been so ignorant before?

"Ino, why didn't you tell me?" I asked urgently, "I would've kicked their asses seven ways to Sunday if I knew they were doing that crap! You know how defensive I get." I could feel my face pulsing with anger, my free hand clenching the hem of my shirt with a vengeance.

Ino sighed again, "I didn't want you to think that I was just using you for protection."

_**That makes ten strikes for jackass in one week, **_my inner self declared nonchalantly.

_Dammit, I can't believe I didn't even ask her about this in the first place! _I growled inwardly, _Wait a minute- Since when did you start counting, you little bastard? Is this some kind of game to you?_

**_Wait, make that eleven, _**it corrected itself in response. I gritted my teeth.

Ino went on, "I didn't mean to make you mad. Forgive me?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I forgive you... but we need to talk." I listened to myself speak. It was so unnatural; no distant, perhaps, makes for a better description.

"Talk? Isn't that what we're doing?" she asked, sounding confused.

I clarified, "In person, I mean."

"Oh," was Ino's reply. If enthusiasm were a light bulb, we'd both be tossing ours out by now. It was just so _awkward._ I could hardly stand it. When I didn't say anything in return, she added, "You can come over to my house, I guess."

I agreed to the idea, but she cut me off before I could get the words out of my mouth.

"Call me back when you get here," Ino said, pausing, "I'm hanging up now."

"Wait!" I begged, relieved when she seemed to comply, "I need to tell you something first . . . I'm sorry."

She let out a breath, shuffling in the background, "It's okay . . I should be apologizing to you. I was being stupid when I canceled our date."

I sighed, "Um . . I'll be over after I wash my hair and change clothes, okay?"

Ino hummed a confirmation and hung up, leaving me to listen to the dial tone for a few seconds before pressing the 'End Call' button. I checked the time – 3:27 AM. It was still too early for this.

I stared at the screen, unable to help but ask myself, _Did that really just happen?_ My heart thumped against my chest strong and hard as I laid my phone on the counter, beginning to strip out of my clothes. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw myself in the mirror. My reflection was about as attractive as a dead lobster. Just looking was painful. I rubbed my eyes and turned away.

_I wonder if I always look like this . . That would suck, _I thought, shedding the last vestiges of my decency and tossing them into the hamper as I stepped into the shower, not bothering to grab a towel. It was pointless to; I'd just end up using it to dry up the floor or something else stupid. I closed my eyes and turned the water on full blast. The image of myself looking into the mirror was still burned into my brain.

_Well, at least I don't look _that _bad. It could be worse, right? _I shook my head under the torrent of liquid, trying to wash the color back into my skin. That was a lie.

_**Finally, something we can both agree on.** _The voice, less annoying than usual, decided to rear its pretty little head.

I laughed, _Nice try, that joke's almost as pathetic as this shower curtain that my parents put up after they broke the door fighting over a hairdryer. What a shame._

_**Twelve, **_it stated simply; I squeezed a glob of shampoo into my hand and began massaging my scalp, furrowing my brow.

Now I was just confused. If only I had some caffeine pills lying around, or patches, either would work. My foggy mind struggled to comprehend. _Twelve? What?_

_**Twelve jackass points for you, that's what. Wake up and smell the coffee for once.**_

I rinsed the suds from my hair, taking a few extra moments to wash the rest of my body. _How was I supposed to know what you were talking about? I'm not crazy like you!_

The thing cleared its throat as I scrubbed away at myself, _**And just who do you think you are? I'm you, **__**and while you're not necessarily me, me being crazy means you being crazy. Geez, for a smart kid, you're pretty dense.**_

_You just called yourself dense,_ I thought, giggling in triumph as I finally managed to rid my body of the last suds and stepped out of the shower. I felt like a genius... until my other half had to rain on my parade.

It laughed dismissively, _**No, I said **_**you**_** were dense. Is your attention span really all that short?**_

I could swear I saw the thing sitting cross legged, wearing one of the cheapest grins I'd ever seen. I grimaced. _Ugh . . This is fucking great. It's 3:30 in the morning and I can see myself without a mirror. That's really, really nice... Not._ I let out a loud sigh, so low that it almost sounded like a growl, running my fingers through my hair to get it in some semblance of order.

_**Oh, I know; it's wonderful. Now if only you were a narcissist, I wouldn't have to listen to you complain about it. I'm surprised you didn't notice until now.**_

"I'm going fucking crazy . . fuck," I paused, "And since when did I cuss this much? . . Oh, that's right, since last year . . . Never-mind-" I turned around to see a faint representation of myself standing behind me, clearly visible in the mirror, "and since when was I this attractive? . . just kidding – but not really." I smiled; the shower really did help.

_**Were you even listening to me?**_It asked, fuming. Watching its mouth move with the words was getting kind of creepy.

Seeing as no one else was going to care, I gave up on reasoning with it in thought, especially since that was getting old. I sighed, splashing some cold water from the sink onto my face, "No, I guess not, but I have a proposition for you." I shot it a look, waiting for an approval.

It nodded.

I left the bathroom and started down the hall, heading toward my room, whispering, "Since I can see you, I might as well give you a name-"

The shade-like thing cut me off excitedly, "It's about time-"

I sighed and did the same, staying on the point, "As I was saying, I might as well give you a name, but I need to know something," I paused in thought, "If I can see you, can anyone else? . . and can you touch anything?" My twin passed me, touching a hand to its chin. It took a moment before speaking.

_**Well, I'm guessing, since no one's said anything before, no, but if by 'touching things' you mean 'moving things,' I'll have to try that first.**_

I stopped talking for two reasons; for one, we were just outside of my room by now, and two, I was _cold. _I quietly went inside and grabbed the closest clothes I could get my hands on. Incidentally, it was a green shirt, a sports bra, some black jeans, and the same red and black striped atrocity with the frappe stain on the shoulder that Naruto had constantly insisted was cool since that last time we went to the mall together. I put them on as quickly as possible and started back for the bathroom for my shoes and socks after realizing that I'd taken them off up there, but not before leaving a note for Hinata. I took the nearest pen I could find and tore a scrap off of the first piece of paper I saw, scribbling in the prettiest handwriting I could manage. I stuck it on the back of the door as I left the room.

It read:

_Hinata, _

_Sorry for leaving you last night. I hope you had a nice sleep. If you want food, there's still some pizza in the fridge . . or some ramen in the cabinet – whichever you prefer. Anyways, just so you know, I'm not mad at you._

3_ Sakura_

_PS: Hearing you sing yesterday was like . . one of the most amazing things ever. :)_

I looked in the mirror, laughing wryly at my reflection. My clothes were ridiculously undersized, at least for my tastes. The hoodie was at least two sizes smaller than I remembered, pulling up over my belly button when I stretched. The only thing worse was the shirt, which only further proved my lack of boobs, what with it being skin-tight and all. Despite that, the pants weren't so bad. Besides being a little tight, they still fit over my favorite converse shoes. I ran my fingers through my hair again, just to make sure I looked alright, eventually giving up when it absolutely refused to do what I wanted.

I gritted my teeth and snatched a brush from the increasingly deteriorating vanity, preparing to put put my hair up. _Man, Sasuke wasn't kidding last week; I could seriously use a haircut, _I concluded, reaching for a rubber band and sliding it over my wrist while I brushed. I took a swig of mouthwash as I did so, swishing it around and spitting it out. After a few brush strokes, I took my hair in one hand and went around it a few times with the rubber band, satisfied with the pop it made as I let go. I shook it a few times in the mirror, just to make sure it looked nice.

**_Wow, someone cleans up good . . sort of, so can I have my name now? I'm getting tired of being called 'it' all the time; I'm a girl,_ **the shade-thing, or girl, said, sounding impatient.

I chuckled, _I don't see why not. I was going to think some more on it, but I guess if you want a lame-ass name, I could do that... How about Kariyo? I think it's some kind of Hawaiian name..._

After a few seconds, surprisingly, she agreed, _**Fine with me, now get out of here and go to Ino's already!**_

"Gladly."

I took my phone from the vanity and replaced it in my pocket, along with the wad of money that was in my jeans from the day before and raced outside, hopping on the bike without a second thought and pedaling away. The night air was cool against the exposed skin of my neck and face. I could feel my skin prickling in the wind. As usual, the neighborhood was near pitch-black and eerily quiet. Sakura petals fell from the trees in the chilly breeze, twirling in the air. I slowed down to turn onto the next road and pedaled hard, resolving to get there as fast as possible.

_Remember, right, left, right, left, left, fourth house by the blue street light...

* * *

_

"Can I do this all over again?" I asked myself, standing out front of Ino's house with the bike in tow. "What happens if this is all a lie?"

_**Even if it is, is it worth not trying, only to find out that it was true to begin with?**_

I didn't answer, letting the bike fall on its side as I approached the door. Then I remembered; Ino wanted me to call her. As I dredged my phone out of my pocket, a creeping fear lodged itself in my chest. The face plate was blank. I flipped it open. The screen was dimly lit – six messages, three missed calls, no voice mails, critical battery.

"Dammit."

I pressed a button to pull up my contacts list. Maybe, just maybe, something in my life would go as planned. The screen lit promisingly for a moment . . then went black.

_Great,_ I sighed, slamming the thing shut and walking around to where I remembered the fence being. It was nowhere in sight. Apparently, Ino's parents had discovered just how easy it was for people to hop into their back yard. A proud new wall stood where the old wooden gate had once been, making the former obstacle look like a feeble excuse for a picket fence.

"Well, isn't this just wonderful," I said, seething to myself, "You could've told me your parents got a new fence installed, Ino, but oh _no,_ Sakura doesn't have to know about anything, now does she?"

I growled, eyes searching for a way over. I thought about using a safety pin to pick the lock, but the thing didn't even have a door to it! It seemed impossible. I could have tried to scale it too, but then I remembered, I was never good at climbing huge walls. Every option pointed to failure. My attention turned itself to the house; there was always the easy way, knocking out front, but no, I couldn't do that. Sakura never took the easy way, never. I stood there for a few minutes, thinking hard.

Before I turned back to the wall, I noticed a growth of ivy on the side of the house, adjacent. Had that been there before? I cocked an eyebrow. It seemed to reach over the barrier and down the other side. Why hadn't I noticed it until now? I approached the vines. A wooden sort of grate was under it, the cheesy kind that you'd expect in some kind of stealth game, placed just so that a ramdom James Bond-sy character could use it for a good measure of espionage goodness. I shook the grate with my hands to see if it was stable. A leaf fell from around the top, barely missing my open mouth.

_**It looks pretty secure, I guess.**_

I nodded, _Yeah, but just you watch if this thing falls as soon as I get to the top . . or on the other side._

**_I'm sure you- I mean we'll be fine._**

I glanced back to find Kariyo smiling at me adorably, pale green eyes following me on my climb . . Wait, did I just describe my conscience as adorable? No matter – I clawed my way to the top of the grate, almost falling as I crossed over to the other side. My foot slipped, the imbalance tearing the fingers of my left hand away from the vines about half-way down. Flailing, my other hand lost its grip and I fell backward. I tried to scream, but my voice caught in my throat, resulting in a choked gurgle when I landed.

My back hit first, the rest of my limbs crashing down hard. My neck snapped on impact, leaving me incredibly delirious. I didn't dare move. I didn't think I could. My ears were ringing with the force of a thousand jet engines; I could hardly breathe. Was that crunching noise the sound of my neck breaking? The stars were spinning above my head as a dull pain pulsated wholly through my being. I was dimly aware of something jabbing into my hip, as well as a vague wet feeling creeping its way around the area. When my hearing returned, a hissing noise, like that of running water accompanied it. I blinked, flicking my tongue at the salty taste in the roof of my mouth.

_Is . . Is that blood? _My mind slowly recovered its thinking capabilities. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again before attempting to pick myself up, immediately recoiling at the head-rush when I did so. Green tendrils hung freely from where my body had been. A piece was missing at the top of the grate, a piece that was now in my tingling hand. True to my estimate, I was a few feet from the midpoint. The fall I took must've been at least ten feet, if not fifteen. Not exactly 'kill you' high, but still dangerous.

Kariyo stood drunkenly over me, wavering slightly when the wind blew. I must've taken one hell of a hit from the drop. She looked as like she could've fallen over at any moment. I spat out a chunk of skin from my cheek, bitten off in that last whiplash-worthy moment. My head was still swimming.

_**Okay . . so maybe I was wrong, **_she said, mumbling. She knelt next to me, gesturing toward the painful protrusion under my right buttcheek, **_I think that's a water hose. _**

I mouthed an 'oh,' since my voice hadn't returned yet. I couldn't bring myself to roll over just yet. I tried, but only ended up gasping in agony. After a second, I threw myself on my side, nearly drowning in the flood of water that was beginning to engulf me. The cold substance splashed me in the face, shocking me into motion. I turned the flow off, closing the handle, though the action was enough to bring tears to my eyes. It hurt so much.

I stood and stumbled my way in front the balcony, just wanting to lie down the entire way. The breeze cut through my wet clothes like a hot knife through butter, chilling me as I trudged along. Luckily, my arms were mostly intact. I picked up a pebble from the flower beds as I had done as a child, hurling it at her window with all of my strength. I missed by a long shot, hitting the wall instead. It was probably for the best, seeing as it most likely would have busted the thing if I had been able to hit it. The rock was pretty big for a pebble.

The popping sound that rang out afterward echoed in the air like a gunshot, infuriating the neighboring animals. I repressed the urge to scream, knowing that if I did, it would probably be the last word anyone heard out of my mouth. My vocal chords ached with a fire like never before. When this method had no effect, I went back to the hose, painstakingly bending over to grab it and turning the spray in the direction of her room for a few seconds. I wanted to shout her name at the top of my lungs in exasperation, and I did . . in my mind.

My mental screeching was answered by the sound of Ino's window opening, as well as a sharp pain in my ear upon hearing my name. I craned my throbbing neck up high to see the most worried face she'd ever given me.

"Sakura!" she cried out, her voice barely registering in my dulled senses. I didn't answer, but watched as she ran from the window, no doubt heading down to see me. I looked to the vines again, somehow expecting her to come around and climb over. That wasn't the case; she came full speed from the other side, wrapping me in an excruciating embrace. I hissed audibly, causing her to release me. She looked me over with concern in her eyes. "What happened?" she asked, cupping a tentative hand to my cheek, "Why didn't you call?"

I winced, but leaned into the contact, clearing my throat. The remnants of my previous anxiety were long gone. I started, "I tried . . but-" my voice cracked and I looked down, sifting through my pocket to pull out my phone, no doubt ruined, judging by the cracked face-plate and water soaking it down. I opened it to emphasize.

"But how did you get so . ." she trailed off, letting the hand fall from my cheek, to my shoulder, and finally to her waist when she noticed the displaced vines on the grate and the flooded area by the wall where my form was imprinted in the mud and grass. Her mouth gaped.

She didn't ask a question, but I tried to speak anyway. My voice was hoarse, "I couldn't figure out another way in without waking your parents up . . so I tried to climb over the wall, sorta."

"You're soaking wet. You should've knocked," she chastised. I dipped my thumbs in my pockets, looking down, partly out of habit and partly out of aversion to pain.

"Yeah," I muttered dejectedly.

Ino gave me a look akin to saying, 'Sakura, you're an idiot.'

I cringed, nodding, "I know, it was stupid, but you don't have to worry about me-"

"Sakura, you could've gone around the other side!" she yelled, interrupting me. The realization hit me pretty hard. I scrunched up my face into a goofy sort of smile. It was good to be with her again, even if I was cold, wet, and mildly delirious.

"Um . . Oops?"

"Get in here."

With that, she tugged me by the wrist, pulling me towards the house. I laughed humorlessly. There was no way I could protest; the concussion was mind numbing. I nearly fell into her as she helped me out of the back yard and inside. My head was pounding. I felt drunk, what with the two of us staggering around on the first floor. She offered to carry me instead of being my crutch, but I refused, knowing that it'd probably result in the both of us taking a tumble. I'd had enough of falling already. She probably wasn't strong enough to pick me up anyway.

Ino watched tiredly as I crawled my way up the near never ending set of stairs. She tried to help, but I wouldn't let her do that either. I was too stubborn. After what seemed like an eternity, I made it to the top, slumping in a heap on the wooden floor as soon as I came to it. She looked at me with pity in her eyes. I felt like a retarded stepchild.

"Ino, don't look at me like that . . . " I grumbled, forcing myself back to my feet again. I nearly fell back in the process, the only thing saving me being the steadying hand she gave just before I tipped over.

She just giggled, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were tipsy, Sakura."

I frowned. "Shut up. I'm only like this because your parents decided to put a tempting little grate _right _next to a wall. What kind of cruel bastard does that?"

Her laughing only got louder, but she stifled it quickly when I shot her a look. She straightened up and threw my arm over her shoulder for the remainder of our _stair climbing adventures. _Every once and a while I'd catch a distressed look on her face, but my constant bitching was enough to keep her smiling. After all, if Sakura feels good enough to complain about each and everything, she must be okay, at least according to Ino-logic. She stopped outside of her room for a moment, unlocking the door and opening it for me.

"Why do you keep your door locked?" I asked, my headache easing enough for me to talk normally . . for the most part. My speech was still a bit slow and bedraggled; I knew I'd surely be feeling this later, most likely with lots of bruises.

She shrugged, helping me in as I limped, "I don't like the idea of anybody coming in when I'm not around. You understand, right?"

She emphasized 'when I'm not around' as if she'd really meant to leave it out. I thought back to all the crazy boyfriends she'd had, nodding, "Yeah, I guess so."

She took off the light jacket she wore, turning to face me. I braced myself with the doorknob to keep from collapsing. Underneath it, she wore a black, spaghetti-strapped top, showing off her shoulder muscles and arms. I blushed slightly. Maybe she _was_ strong enough to carry me.

"Sakura?" Ino cooed, sounding a mixture between concern and amusement.

"Hnn?" I answered, jolted out of the mini-fantasy my brain had begun cooking up.

Ino chuckled and tossed the thing into her closet, "You're so out of it; it's not even funny."

I made a face, defending, "If you fell on your head, you'd be out of it too!"

"Right," she said, skeptically, "Last time I checked, concussions didn't make people go all goo-goo eyed like that."

I huffed, "I was _not_ going all _goo-goo _eyed – I was just dizzy!"

Ino smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "You're the worst liar, Saku-chan. So anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

I could feel the color draining from my face just slightly as I tried to recall. I hadn't specified in the first place. After some deliberation, I said, "Nothing, I guess. I can't remember." I peeled out of the soaking hoodie I was in, almost suffocating when it got stuck over my head. Ino helped me get if off. I looked between it and her with some uncertainty. "Where am I supposed to put this?"

She shrugged, "I don't care, but you're changing out of those before you even think about getting in my bed." When I didn't respond, she took the thing out of my hands and tossed it to the floor. My shirt was next on the list. The fabric pulled away, revealing the pale skin underneath. My chest hammered away with reckless abandon. I grabbed her hands before my bra came into view, almost whimpering.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hissed, tugging her wrists downward.

She blinked, eying me as if I'd gone insane, "I'm getting you out of these wet clothes. What does it look like?"

She smiled playfully, but I stayed firm. "Could you like . . find me some clothes first?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh, right."

She laughed it off, going to the closet and rummaging through the racks for a bit. I stood behind her nervously, biting my lip and toying with the hem of my shirt. She turned to me with a pair of jeans and a flashy blouse.

"Something like this?" she asked hopefully.

I shook my head, "No, like . . shorts and a t-shirt. I'm sleepy, not straight."

"Oh," she said simply, putting the hanger back and slipping past me to her dresser. She pulled out the top drawer and rifled through it for a second or two before pulling out some boxers and a black top. Both looked strikingly similar to the clothes she wore. I had to catch them before they hit me in the face. Happily, I was lucky enough to do just that. I slipped into them as fast as I could. They fit nicely, despite being a little tight.

"Thanks," I muttered, almost laughing at the look on her face when she saw that I'd already put them on. "What? Never seen a quick change artist before?"

* * *

**Okay, so that's the end of the chapter. :)**

**I'm still having a title discrepancy here, but eh, it is what it is. Here's some deserved explanations for the stuff in the chapter.**

**As for the name, well, that comes from the quick change in how Sakura's feeling through the chapter, as well as the last line, of course . . and Inner Sakura's name, that comes from the Japanese romanization of the Hawaiian name, "Kaleo," which means "voice." I thought it was perfect at the time, but eh, looking back, not so much. Whatever. It's better than nothing, eh? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! **


	13. Faithless and Falling

Ehe, sorry about the lateness, guys? I've been revamping chapters lately, and whatnot; I almost forgot to do this at all! :O

Enjoy!

* * *

"You honestly think I believe you don't care? Really Sakura?" Ino asked, laughing behind me as I stared out of her window. Misty puffs of smoke flowed out of the window in wafting billows. The air was frosty, almost enough for the moisture in my breath to freeze on my lips.

I huffed, knowing I'd been caught in yet another lie. It was a bit of a habit, lying. I opened my mouth, intent on watching the moon, which was still out, for some odd reason; I didn't want to sound like an ass. "I'm a horrible liar, aren't I?" I was smiling, genuinely smiling.

"Yes, you are," she laughed again, more humorously this time. I heard her take a step closer. She continued, "but that's not exactly a bad thing. I love you anyway." Her breath poured over my shoulder, its mist spilling out into the frigid air.

"Pfft, now you're just being a showoff," I chuckled, sighing, "It's going to be a long day, isn't it?"

Ino took my arm away from the windowsill, stepping under it and draping it over her shoulder. Her voice was soft, "I guess so. You'd think that a couple days away from each other wouldn't make much of a difference, but look at us now. I thought I'd never get you back after that stunt you pulled." I cringed at the last sentence, still keeping my gaze on the sky. How could she sound so nonchalant about something like that – like it happened years ago? The hurt was there, but still, how? I wondered for a moment, before remembering I was still in the middle of a conversation.

I gasped, searching for words. It made me feel guilty. "Yeah," I said, "Sorry about that. I was just . . confused. I was being a jerk." I bit my lip. I couldn't bear to tell her about what happened with Hinata, not all of it. That would be the end of the world, no doubt.

_Why am I such a cheat?_

"It's okay, Saku, don't worry about it too much. You'll drive yourself crazy like that," she said, laughing off yet another one of my hidden confessions, "I understand."

_Pff, yeah, drive myself crazy, as if I haven't already done that to you, _I thought, sighing. My concussion was still just as heavy as it had been before. I was speechless, though only for a moment. "Um, yeah, I'll try." If only she knew.

She giggled at me, squeezing my hand as she held it captive at her side. "Hey, don't be like that. It's not like you did anything wrong, right?" she asked. Wrong. I rolled my eyes at my luck.

"Uh, sure," I said, not wanting to disappoint her. _And the guilt just piles higher and higher. Fitting, I suppose. I deserve it._

_**Yes, you do.**_

I sighed, too defeated to even respond. I didn't have to; Ino would keep talking as long as I would listen, so long as what she didn't know didn't come back to haunt her.

"So, whatcha lookin' at up there Saku-chan?" Ino asked, interrupting the silence, "It must be pretty if it can keep your eyes off of me for this long." She laughed.

"Are you trying to say I stare?" I asked, sounding more annoyed than I'd hoped.

"Of course, and it's so cute!" she said, tearing my attention away from the sky.

I was confused. "Cute?" I asked.

She nodded, bouncing a bit as she said so.

"I don't get it."

"That's okay Saku-chan. You don't have to understand." I could almost feel her smiling, even though I wasn't particularly looking. It was unusual, to say the least, almost unnerving.

I yawned, trying to shrug off the feeling that she was hiding something from me. If my suspicions were correct, I honestly didn't want to know. Me cheating was enough. Her cheating would make it all that much worse. It would make sense: since when did _anyone_ shower me with this much attention? Never, not unless it was Naruto or Sasuke, and that didn't count. That alone was suspicious enough. I ignored it as best as I could manage.

"I'm tired," I said, suddenly stretching and brushing past her as I headed towards the bathroom. Maybe a good splash to the face would cure that damned concussion from the night before.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ino called after me.

I sighed, "Nowhere soon, don't worry."

How wrong I was. She bounded after me energetically, taking my hand in hers as she proceeded to lead me down the hall, skipping all the way.

"Ino, slow down. I'm not a morning person!" I yelped, tripping over my foot as we started down the stairs. Cursed converse – why were the wardrobe malfunctions always on my part?

She obeyed, to a degree, and stopped dragging me by the wrist, instead opting for an impatient tug as our feet scrubbed against the wine colored carpet. I was relieved. "Fine, fine," she said, "but just so you know, it's practically three in the afternoon, so it's technically not morning. I'll let you off light this time though." She smiled, looking back at me.

"Pfft, right," I sighed, asking, "So, to what far end of the universe have you decided to take me to now?"

Ino giggled, "Silly, you'll see soon enough."

* * *

"This tin can of a city has a bus?" I wondered aloud, trying to tell whether or not I was seeing things as a hulking green and black contraption came to a stop before us. "And here I thought you were joking. This _has_ to be a dream." I looked over to Ino with quirked eyebrows. The side of the bus read, _'Fast, Safe, and Affordable. If you don't ride with us, who can you trust?' _The word, _'Affordable,'_ was marked out and _'Free' _was sloppily written over it in what appeared to be red marker, with a sticker that said, "Government Sponsored Transportation," down below. Needless to say, I had a hard time believing that. The thing looked like it could've fallen in half at any second, and sounded like it too.

She smiled. "Every day is a dream, sleepy head. It's just that some of us are too caught up in our nightmares to notice," she said, nudging me in the side with an elbow.

I laughed, pointing at the thing, fenders wobbling as it idled, waiting on us. "Only you would say something like that, Ino," I said, staying put, "I mean, come on, the damn thing looks like it could disintegrate if we went over a bump! You expect me to get on this thing?"

She entertained my joke, giggling. "Saku, you're one to talk," she chuckled, walking past me. "No wonder Temari says you're a chicken. Get on the bus already!"

So, I got on the bus. I was surprised to find that there was even anyone on the thing. Well, anyone who wasn't half-dead, old, or crinkly – a rare find, in this city. I spotted some of Ino's friends, Chouji and Shikamaru, towards the last few rows. "Are you sure this is safe?" I asked, slumping down into the seat in front of them. The synthetic leather crumpled under my weight as I looked out of the window. I could see Ino greeting them out of the reflection.

Chouji laughed, his round form jiggling as he commented. "Heh, I was wondering the same thing, actually," he popped a potato chip into his mouth, punctuating the sentence. I cringed at the rather loud chomping, but he didn't seem to notice, or care, and continued, "I heard that this was the same bus they've been using for the past sixty years or so. Talk about antique, huh?"

Ino smiled at him, sitting cross-legged beside me, facing backward. "Yeah, but I figure if it's lasted this long, it'll last a little longer," she said, flipping her hair. I sighed, facing the window.

Shikamaru stretched, sticking his feet out into the aisle, tugging on his green vest with a sigh that rivaled my own, "Yeah, but you deluding yourself into believing that isn't going to hold this thing together, you know." He sat back up, still limp, to a degree, "It's a bus, not a drug addiction." I tossed my hair in acknowledgment, now leaning against the glass.

"So where are you guys going?" I asked, watching the ground slowly begin to go by as the bus started moving again.

"A water park," Shikamaru answered disdainfully, groaning. He palmed his forehead, adding, "It was Chouji's idea."

"It was not!" the brunette quickly defended, spewing potato chip crumbs over my head. For once I was thankful that I had horrible posture. "It was her idea!" He pointed to Ino.

_So that was who she was talking to earlier this morning,_ I thought, _I knew I should've stayed up_.

"You weren't supposed to say that!" Ino yelled, smacking him playfully. I giggled to myself and she turned around. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. I'm just a little excited is all," I replied, savoring the strange looks everyone was giving.

_**This is going to be fun.. **_

* * *

We arrived at the park and started to get off of the bus. As I was about to stand up and slide out of my seat, Shikamaru shouldered his way past me. I sighed. Naruto had mentioned that Ino's friends were pretty much a bunch of jerks, somewhere along the line, I remembered.

"Sorry," he said, smirking a bit. I laughed humorlessly, following him and hopping out of the door. At the last step, I tripped. I landed on my leg, twisting my ankle and scraping my knee through my jeans. It stung violently. I winced.

_Well, that didn't go as planned, _I thought, picking myself up from the concrete and limping to a standing position. Shikamaru looked at me curiously, still wearing the same smirk.

"What?" I spat. I didn't like being stared at.

He sighed, "Oh nothing, nothing."

"It'd better be nothing," I muttered, half-stumbling over to Ino, who had started walking off already. She took my hand in hers as I caught up, heading down the cobblestone path that led into the park.

An hour had passed since then, and by that time, we were all floating around in some kind of wave pool, near the deep end. Yellow little donuts bobbed up and down with the current, most of them occupied. Shikamaru was in one such donut, too lazy to swim like the rest of us were doing. Chouji and I were swishing around in the middle of the water, a few feet from Ino and another blonde girl, who I later learned was Temari, a friend of the same Kin that I'd abruptly beaten up not so long ago. I furrowed my brow. Between all the splashing, going under, and water-fights, I managed to understand that both Temari and Kin would be at the park for the rest of the evening.

_What fun, _I thought, grimacing as the water slapped my chin repeatedly.

"You alright?" Chouji asked, giving me a weird look. I jumped.

"Oh, yeah, perfectly fine," I replied. It was entirely untrue. I was unbelievably jealous, and apparently, he noticed.

Chouji was about to say something, but a wave caught me and I was too busy spluttering to hear it. I floundered until I could catch my breath again and coughed, wiping the chlorine water out of my eyes. "What?" I sputtered miserably, cursing the wave pool to hell and back.

He laughed, leaning back comfortably in the swells as I struggled to stay afloat. "I _said,_ are you _sure_ about that?" He kicked a bit, moving away from the group, out to where Shikamaru's inner tube was positioned. Now I was extremely jealous. Why did he get to float? I gargled in annoyance as he continued, "We can talk about it if you want."

"Over barbeque? Fat chance," I yelled back, too occupied with keeping my chin above the surface to swim over to him. I clawed my way up to keep from drowning, realizing that I hadn't really planned my evening all that well. As Chouji and Shikamaru conversed, I went under for a third time until my feet touched the bottom, gasping for breath and taking in water. I screamed into the sky blue emptiness, gurgling and spasming in the sea of blurs.

When I finally came up for air, it was the absolute greatest feeling of accomplishment and utter glee I'd ever experienced, even with the coughing and tears that came with it after I'd resurfaced. God, I was grateful – so grateful that I was willing to move away from Ino and Temari so that my toes could touch the bottom again, even if it meant being called a chicken for the rest of the day, or whatever other consequence that could possibly come forth from my behavior. I was _that _happy to be alive, and that much more happy that I'd probably never see that heaven forsaken water theme park again, seeing as to how bored Ino was looking.

While I was alone and able to breathe again, I scanned the rest of the wave pool, looking back and forth between swimmers as they floundered about in the water, some of them sunburned to sickly shades of red, others ghost white. I was trying to catch a glimpse of Kariyo. Sure, one would think that finding yourself in an ocean of ghastly, goggle clad, ethnic people would be trivial, no pun intended, but apparently, my eyes were playing tricks on me and it didn't turn out to be so easy. I looked left and right, scanning, but each time I thought I'd found her, it'd just be some swimsuited cosplayer splashing around in a pink wig or some other, a good bit of those being male, too. I blanched, finding this disgusting – not the fact that they weren't female, but at the attire – speedos, bikinis, and the like. I paled and gagged even more so as a particular sight for sore eyes came into my view; I needed a change in scenery, fast.

* * *

I returned home later that day, despite my own inhibitions, to find a thin layer of dust blanketing my possessions. Had it not been my room, as I'd walked in and settled down on my bed for a few minutes, I probably never would have noticed. I sighed. Once again, I was home alone. No doubt, my mother was probably still gone, drinking herself away or gambling, as my father always did. I sighed.

I had grabbed my clothes from earlier and set them in the wash for a bit. They would not be done for another hour or so. I'd managed to snag them from Ino's on my way back from the water park, which, for the life of me, I was clueless as to how I'd escaped in one piece, what with the women mobbing me on the way back, and not all of them in pleasant ways either. I had the feeling that some of them would've liked to detain me. Thankfully though, I was able to get back on the bus and Ino had left everything unlocked for me when I got back - three hours after falling asleep during the ride. She must have figured that I'd want to take off and grab my stuff after all that.

The note I'd left for Hinata was still sitting where I left it, undisturbed. _How polite,_ I thought, stripping out from most of my clothing, which was sopping wet from the bus ride back home. Tossing my shorts into the hamper, I grabbed another pair from my dresser and slipped them on, only to find Kariyo's pale form appear in front of me. I yelped and stumbled until I fell on my butt in the center of the room, startled. I had most certainly not expected that.

She laughed, much to my chagrin, as I half-frowned up at her, mostly out of pain. I'd fallen on one of my school binders and one of the rings was wedged in a decidedly pained area of my rear. I sat up and tossed the thing away. "What are you doing here?" I asked, curiously, obviously not having run across her on my way to the house. "Where have you been?"

However, Kariyo just shrugged. "Where have _you_ been?" she asked.

"The park?" I answered, confused.

"Then I was with you," she said simply.

I furrowed my brow at this, standing up and going to lie down on my bed. "Explain, please?"

She sighed, "This is hopeless.. Sakura, I'm a part of you – I go where you go. Remember?"

"Then why couldn't I see you?" I asked, "I was beginning to get worried." I instantly recoiled as I rolled on my back, suddenly remembering the damned notebook that I'd managed to fall on. My ass was burning like missiles on summer festival.

She laughed at my gesture, "Guess you just weren't trying hard enough."

A particular painful scent piquing my interest, I huffed, "Seems as if it's the only thing I do around here these days – try." I sighed as a shirt came up from my torso and found its way over my shoulders and past my ears, before finding itself in a heap on the floor. The rest of my clothes soon followed, reeking of my still drenched body's chlorine odor; I would shower before redressing.

* * *

"Yes?" I pressed the hot, plastic brick that I'd come to know as a cell phone to my ear gingerly in greeting – not for Naruto, not for Sasuke.

A gasp and stutter, "Sakura?" It wasn't Ino.

"Hnn?" I answered gently. Kindness and manners didn't come as the first thoughts to my mind here, but I ignored the rest, too entirely busy not to. "This is she, just in case you're wondering why I'm not too interested in barking your head off," I went on lazily, again rifling through my clothing. The last wash had resulted in a few pairs being too tight for even a body as preteen-ly as my own.

"It's Hinata," the girl said from the other end; I understood clearly.

I rummaged through a drawer impatiently, pulling out shirts and pants left and right. "Oh, hello then," I managed between breaths of frustration, and eventually gave up, heading out of my room and to the kitchen, wearing nothing but flip-flops and a frown; why I was bothering to wear the former evaded me at that particular moment. I didn't voice this, however.

"What's u-up?"she asked, attempting a casual conversation. This flopped miserably.

I looked into the fridge, finding that, to my displeasure, the very black coffee I'd meant to discard long before all this time had broken through its paper prison and made a mess of the entire interior of the refrigerator, brown muck and unused sweetener caked onto the white plastic in lakes and lumps. I was not pleased. However, I stuck to my original mood for her sake, aping the classic, "Oh, nothing, you?"

She drew an apprehensive breath over the line, and like I thought she'd never ask – nervous girl and whatnot, whispered, "So I suppose you're with Ino again?" I could almost feel the bitterness radiating from her as she pointedly ignored my question.

Half inbetween the sink and unsightly horror on the other side of the kitchen, I sighed gently and thought I might lie. The notion left my mind as I snagged a roll of paper towels and seized a bundle of the paper sheets, putting them under the water of a nearby sink and transferring them to the atrocity that I knew I'd better clean up before anyone important arrived home. Gritting my teeth, I murmured, "No." At this, I heard a gasp, and knew it was one of excitement, but I continued. "We had fun." That much was a lie, "but no, no."

"Oh."

* * *

To be continued...

Okay, okay, so not my best work, but I honestly tried. I did, after all, turn this thing from a skeleton to a chapter in a day and a half, kay? *smacks self* Why did I do that. Oh well, anyway, until I update again! More drama on the way!


	14. Sodden on the Molotov

I awoke to the stench of what I thought to be alcohol and cat urine, finding the clock I had set beside me lying dead silent and lifeless, other than the red digits proclaiming it to be three AM that stared me in the face. The sky on my right was a deep purple hue, and the window was open, letting in fresh breezes of cool summer air; the slight odor of mildew quickly informed me of my location - my room, judging by the shades, which I had not left drawn in weeks, and the drapes, which were the culprits behind the awful smell; though, it wasn't as if my rumpled linens were any better, lying on the floor. Groaning, I shielded my eyes and looked to the side, where my shoulder lay pinned and slightly numb.

The immense weight there felt as if it hadn't moved in ages. I turned my head, only to be met with a face full of soft twines and a light sigh; both of which threatened to breach the space between my parted lips. That answered one question, and there were quite a few more to go, I noted, trying to remain as calm as I could manage, given the pulsating pain that throbbed behind my eyelids at the slightest inklings of light. At the back of my mind, there was an instinctual urge to get up and relieve myself, that, and to purge my stomach of its contents, which were apparently from escapades unbeknownst to me. I ignored both - for the moment.

"Mmm," the girl beside me shifted in her sleep, throwing a leg between my two and clinging to me tightly as her breath skated across the skin of my ear. The figure was long and slim, soft to the touch, and warm; without thinking, I had let my fingers fumble a scar on what I imagined to be her lower back, and I felt her chest press into my side. My face heated up as I realized this, and I immediately looked away, ashamed. I turned my attention back to the alarm clock, suddenly tense, especially so as I heard my name cross unfamiliar lips. A twist, and I felt a hand crawl up my shirt.

_I've got to stop waking up like this, _I thought, shuddering as I wondered what I'd been doing to deserve such treatment, and such smell. Vodka and rum were quite thick in the air - rum was mother's drink of choice - and so was the general odor with the tang of fruit as a side order - more than likely the product of botched margaritas. Hang over recognized, I sighed, wondering how many shots of _somethings _I must have downed to get my head feeling impacted as it was. What had I done? More importantly, _who _had I done, if anyone? With the figure attached to my side, my mind began to wander off of its own accord. _Ino? _It questioned._ No, I only wish that were possible._ The breeze picked up, dashing a few strands of hair across my semi-ticklish forehead. _Then who?_

A like groan greeted me from the side, followed by a stretch and a yawn. As my senses adjusted to the darkness and the mystery girl settled again, I began to feel eyes on me, my form illuminated with pale moonlight. I felt a shift go along with those eyes, and fluttery black hair met me with the help of the open window.

"Hey there." A greeting. I knew the voice, but I couldn't quite place it.

I sighed for the second time and let out a grumble, blinking away my eyes' inclinations of closing on me. I was feeling a chill, and sleep felt perfectly inviting - intoxicating even, as did the warmth next to me. "Hey," I returned tiredly, and not without apprehension.

"You're awake," the mysterious 'she' proclaimed blankly, shifting her weight so that a particularly pale stretch of stomach came into view under the light.

A_nd you must be Sherlock Holmes. Yeah, I'm awake, no shit, _I thought, going on in annoyance, _and I'm quickly wishing _you_ weren't._ I didn't voice this, however, and remained silent until it became painfully obvious that she was waiting on my response; I turned my head away at this, boring holes into furniture with my eyes. "I am," I answered simply, fighting off an aggravated growl. My stomach begged to be sated.

"Hmph," I heard a laugh beside me, "So I suppose you don't remember anything about last night, then?"

This piqued my interest and I turned back to her, head pounding. "Nn?" My half naked ensemble seemed to make just a bit more sense at this. "No," I replied, "but I'm likely to strangle the person that drugged me up and put me to bed, if it's anything to you." I mumbled, clearing the sleep from my eyes with my free hand.

Come to find out, as I'd eventually clambered my way out of the conversation with the girl, who I grudgingly discovered to be Kin, one of my most loathed adversaries, I'd left the house the night before and wound up at a party - Naruto's, and I'd brought Hinata with me. Vaguely, I remembered that we'd danced. I let out a breath, standing in the shower's spray again as the image of her little frame timidly bouncing about in the crowd next to mine flooded back into pseudo-vision. It cleared away as Kin made apparent her intent to make use of my toiletries.

"What now?" I groaned from behind the shower's glass door, watching her blurred form burst into the room and move toward the sink. Judging by the peach tone that was steadily growing on her and the black and grey masses falling to the ground, she was shedding clothes, but I couldn't hear any rustling over the din of the water. According to her version of last night's story, I'd come in moping around the punch bowl for the better half of the party, gotten smashed on spiked punch, ended up dragging Shizune down with me - dry humped to acid techno after discovering our respective lacks in the 'alcohol tolerance' department, apparently - and eventually got around stumbling out in a stupor with Kin on, or more appropriately under my arm - after quite a few unmentioned make out sessions with random ladies - until we were both on a crazy train leading to my bedroom - my moldy fish-stick bedroom. I grumbled, looking to Kin again. She was beginning to resemble some sort of flan, a gooey, jiggling dessert, through the glass as she paraded about the room in all her flesh hued glory. I smirked at this.

"Sorry Forehead," she jibed; I winced at the crude nickname. "Didn't know if you wanted me waltzing around here naked or not." She looked over herself in the mirror, striking a cocky pose or two before asking semi-rudely, "Where're your clothes?" as if she thought I was so destitute that I hid them out of greed. Woman's intuition told me she'd been rifling through them already and simply didn't want me to notice.

_Isn't she a troublesome one? _I sighed, sudsing myself up as I stepped out from underneath the shower head and began to scrub my newest improvised concoction onto my skin, a blue gel solution, smelling faintly of lavender and lemons. I was beginning to detest having house guests, especially those that ruined my bath time. My flip phone was as unwelcome of a guest as any, and so was my out-of-body experience parody of a conscience, but heavens, I never knew how much I'd begun to absolutely detest actual visitors. Come to think of it, I was beginning to sound like that one young man I'd met the other day. _Shikamaru, was it? _I shook my head, drizzing white suds and water. _No matter; he was a jerk. Pretty sure Ino could agree with me there - or that other guy with the chips. What was his name? Chouji? Yeah him. He was okay, but a bit weird for my tastes, not to mention huge. I bet he'd sit on me and crush me to death if he wasn't too carefu-_

"Hey, Earth to Sakura," Kin jolted me out of my thoughts boisterously, "You mind coming back to the world of the living and telling me where in the hell I can get some clothes around here? This place is an ice box!" I watched as she hugged herself and shivered - oh, irony.

"Figures," I replied nonchalantly, still scrubbing. The thought of hitting the ball back into her court with a snide remark was tempting at this point, but I satisfied her nonetheless. "You should be able to find a few pairs of pants and hoodies in my closet," I procured, pausing as I thought. I'd never really considered where I put my clothes up until that moment. Changing into them every morning was to the point of being grounds for autopilot functionality by now. I added, "There might be a shirt or two in the hamper over on the right, by the bathroom door."

This seemed to please her for a moment, but she spoke up again. "What about .. er, underwear and stuff?"

It took sheer will to force myself out of facepalming under the shower's spray, and I managed to succeed in containing this urge mostly due to my not wanting to chance the possibility of having suds in my eyes. With a grunt, I supplied, "Dresser drawers - boxers left, panties right, socks in the bottom cabinet."

With that, I was relieved as she searched the hamper and left, not minding as she fussed about and left several mounds of clothing on the floor, including her own, which were discarded on the pink rug by the vanity. When I'd finished what was left of my _relaxing_ bath, I opened the shower door, wringing my hair of water as I stepped out onto the cool tile floor. As I'd expected, what few clothes lying around I'd seen through the fogged glass had multiplied considerably. Kin had left an enormous mess of presumably clean clothes in a lump at the door, and had evidently tried to shut some of them in the path, since a few were scrunched up in the open doorway. I groaned; doubtlessly, I'd have to pick those up later, but for the moment, I simply retrieved a shirt from the pile and went to the vanity, applying my toiletries as per the daily routine and brushing my teeth, not at all feeling uncomfortable as I bent over in the mirror, naked and scrubbing at my pearlies insistently, hair framing my face in strands of what appeared to be more rouge than damp pink.

Once that was done, I plucked a bra from the large clothing pile on my way out and slid into it and the shirt, making for my room. As I entered, Kin nearly jumped out of her skin, mortified that she was caught in the process of stepping into a pair of my undersized - in her case - Hello Kitty panties. "God, Forehead," she nearly screeched, frantically hiking up the underwear the rest of the way at my intrusion. "You could knock, you know - or trim that lawn of yours down there. Yeesh, talk about a cave man," she said, eyes drifting down to my crotch, "You're almost as bad as Tenten - fucking Forest of Death. Don't you have any sense of decency?"

"I could ask the same of you," I said, rolling my eyes at the comment and pushing her out of the way as I pulled some underwear from the open drawer and bent over to replace the ones she'd strewn around the room back into their appropriate places. I paused when the realization hit me. "Wait, what?" I stammered. As far as I knew, Tenten was one of those uppity types of girls I'd seen around school; she was a friend of the Hyuga's, and specifically of Neji's, from what little I'd overheard Hinata saying about her. I'd seen her once - brunette, buns on either side of her head, kind of bitchy looking; she certainly didn't look one to flaunt the minge - not to me. I put the panties on, not too bothered that I was being watched.

Kin looked at me as if it were obvious, underwear incident forgotten for the moment, luckily enough for me. "Yeah. She plays tennis - s'the team _captain_, as a matter of fact," she said, a slight look of distaste showing on her face, "Slut tries to impress the coach by playing with her birthday panties on;" I watched in confusion - never heard of birthday panties before, maybe birthday suits, but not panties - as she finished, "damned sage pervert's into hairy chicks or something."

I cocked a brow, moving to the closet as she sat back on my bed, apparently not minding the mixed wet dog and mildew floating around. "Jiraiya? Should've known that," I remarked flatly. She flipped her hair, observing as I slipped on some pants.

"Yeah," Kin agreed.

I shrugged in response, heading out into the kitchen for some grub. "You're welcome to some food if you like; I don't have much, but we might as well use it up before it goes bad," I called back at her, being surprisingly hospitable. She let out a loud yawn as I went to the fridge and ripped the top off of a cup of instant ramen that had been on one of the shelves, beef flavored. The sky wasn't quite light yet, showing through the kitchen window into the sink below, where I filled the cup half with water and opened a soy packet into the mix. "You need to be gone before my mother's home, though," I warned, placing the container in the microwave. "She'll probably come staggering in here piss drunk in an hour or so, maybe sooner."

Kin looked at me, not comprehending. "Why?" she asked, directed at the latter rather than the former, long raven locks falling onto the table as she hunched over it. "Who's your mom anyway? Tsunade?" She laughed incredulously.

As if on cue, the front door burst open, and in came a shambling, cursing mess of filth and plaster-faced maleducate. My mother careened about the room blearily, neglecting to shut the door as a half-empty bottle of booze skittered its way across the floor and into a corner; I could feel the hostility radiating from her in waves. Before I could manage a word out of my mouth, she and I were nose to nose, the stench of stinking breath - from alcohol - and greasy hair being all that I could process between us.

Mother grabbed my collar in a tired, angry fist, her serrated gaze flicking to Kin, who looked on in what I guessed to be between fear and disbelief as my mother ran her other hand, the one that wasn't busy fashioning my T-shirt into an improvised noose, through her sullied locks, which no longer mirrored my own as they had when she was younger, purer. She was livid, and still glaring at the raven-haired girl who steadily retreated back into her seat at the table and attempted not to make any sudden movements toward her. Her voice came as a low, throaty growl, "Who'sh your friend, Sakura?" She paused, eyes sharpened to a menacingly dull point of threatening as she let that be, "Mind telling me wha'shall doin' in ma house, _hun_?"

I hesitated to answer, disgusted, but sense screamed for me to appease this drunken beast. "This is Kin, Mother," I replied calmly, "Please, be civil to her, as I try to be."

Her eyes rolled, leaving behind a haunting grin. "Oh, you'sha piece'a work, ain'sha, Sakura?" Still holding to my collar, she burst into a fit of cackles and dragged me from the wall. I groaned as a searing pain shot up my spine - shoved against the counter.

I woke up again hours later, head throbbing and wet in the middle of the kitchen floor. I blinked and sat up, breathing hard. The microwave was just as I'd left it, and the door still lay open, letting in cool air, as the sky had darkened considerably. I heard snores from nearby, indicating that Mother was again sleeping. I grumbled and pulled myself to standing, creasing my brows in annoyance as a creeping hum met my ears no sooner than I had made for the door and closed it silently. Craning my head to the noise, I listened for the sound, walking on unsteady legs until I found the source lying on my nightstand. Buzzing incessantly, my phone finally had clattered to the floor by the time I'd come into the room, and before I could get to it, had resumed its ceaseless ringing. Bending down, I retrieved the thing, flipped it open, and answered with a click. Whoever was calling wasn't in my contacts list, I noted.

"Hello?" I answered tiredly, wiping sweat from my cheek onto my sleeve. That was going to hurt in the morning.

I was nearly jolted out of my skin as the person on the other end greeted loudly - Kin; typical. "Hey, took ya long enough to answer, Pinky. I've been burnin' up your phone for the past couple of hours. What's with ya?"

I responded routinely, "So I saw. I'm fine, if that's what you're asking. How did you get my number?"

"Oh, I looked through your phone while you were in the shower, that's all," she joked.

"You what?"

I could practically feel her rolling her eyes at me, "No, dumbass, I'm kidding. You gave it to me at the party, remember?"

I squinted, finding that hard to believe, seeing as I hated her and all. This elicited a pitiful laugh that reverberated from my chest. "You sure about that?"

"I called, didn't I?" she asked.

"Suppose you're right," I admitted. "What do you want?" I asked, mildly impatient.

Kin was taken aback. "Rude, much, Sakura? Feh, I was going to ask you to come out of that hell hole over there and have dinner with me and Temari before your mom found that blood stain on the kitchen floor, but _now_, I dunno," she teased impishly.

"Temari, eh?" I hummed, remembering the blonde from the water park; she'd been that serious looking powderpuff wearing a light-blue and white polka-dotted bikini, showing off her assets to the boys, and Shikamaru particularly. We'd shared a brief greeting before Temari had taken to her own business with Ino.

"Yeah; she wanted us to eat at Ichiraku's, but I told her you already had instant ramen in the microwave - figured you wouldn't want more of it; plus, that creep, Naruto, hangs around there this time of night," she said.

I smirked, "Really now?" I asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, See you at seven, my place. Text me."

"But wait, where the hell is your place even a-"

_Click._

I sighed. _Thanks for all that information there, lovely; sure is nice not to know where the hell I'm going_. I looked to my cellphone again for the time and gawked. It was already late - six forty-seven_. Well, at the very least, I could save Kin's number. _

And so I did. She was probably right, I noted; It'd be wise to get out of the house for a bit, even if she had scooted around the real issue a tad, and perhaps I could ask this Temari about the party last night - clear up some questions - get some verification; I made a note to call Sasuke in the event that dinner didn't go as planned. We hadn't talked in a while.

* * *

To be continued...

A/N: Okay, so I haven't updated since last month; I know you're probably mad, but I'm working on getting my laptop back into.. well, working order. This chapter is pretty short, and for that, I apologize (A/N's probably a tenth the length), but I did make some major progress here, both with outlining the plot more, and with getting a fairly loose, overlapping story line to lay onto all of it. I'm trying to improve consistencies in story, and I've already got a few chapters reworked. Expect massive character boost when I begin swapping chapters out for their improved counterparts. You may need to re-read for the additional scenes, timeskips, and rewrites when I implement them. Then again, I may simply save a backup of this, delete the entire story, and repost it anew. What I have here now doesn't do any of the stories I drew ideas from any justice whatsoever. Note, I'm doing all of this by hand currently, excluding transcription, so it's pretty hard and may take a while... and I do mean a LONG while - like maybe next year. Hectic, yep.

Also, things I'm touching on here as I'm closing up - not the story, just this monologue I need to share with you all that I can't contact on a regular basis; I've gone through many life changes, and that's probably going to be apparent in my writing. There's a big difference between my middle school writing in seventh and eighth grade, and my high school writing in freshman and sophomore year, going on junior year. As an after thought to clean up the story, I'm putting all author's notes at the bottom of the page from now on, so as not to spoil things for the readers, and if I can make myself do it, will probably eliminate them altogether. And to the fans, by the way, I love you guys a ton for the positive feedback - helps with battling depression, and I know that I in no way deserved it in the beginning; my writing was pretty atrocious.

As for the story, this chapter isn't exactly concerning Ino, as I'm sure you've noticed, but I figured I'd toss it in anyway, just as character development for Sakura's mom, who, praise the heavens, finally makes her first real appearance since chapter one here, and for Kin, who now isn't reduced to one brief, humiliating cameo. I needed to give her some personality, and reveal some more little quirks of Sakura's. I also thought it'd add some nice drama, and show that Sakura's life doesn't _always_ involve Ino.. not _always._ Anyway, to explain more, it was originally intended as a scene I was going to write Hinata in, but I thought she needed a break and it became really hard, so I wrote in random girl, who became Kin; Hinata does make a teensy cameo here though, in Sakura's mind, however. That's not so bad, is it?

Cheers! Reviews appreciated and reciprocated! And of course, please notify me of errors you find, ehe. I can't always catch them all, you know. ;)


	15. Saturated Company

A/N: I know I've stated that I'd put notes at the bottom of chapters from now on, but I thought I'd notify you all that this chapter has been split into three parts, which will be added later to keep time-skips from becoming overwhelming. It's a cosmetic thing. The rest of the chapter is still in editing, and I'm currently cutting scenes, something I didn't think I'd be doing. What few that I cut may be exposed later in flashbacks, so you're not missing anything. Just know that if I didn't split everything up, this chapter would be 18,000 words long with more than eight line-breaks. Also, there's a little coarse language here, so I apologize if that's offensive to anyone.

Enjoy, and please, don't hit me for taking so long to update; it's not on purpose, I promise.

* * *

I hadn't texted Kin.

As I'd expected, I didn't end up walking to her house either; not long after I'd begun to think that neither girl was coming and that the meeting, as I referred to it, was off - lack of directions to Kin's house coupled with no shows didn't help the case much - I was jolted awake from my particularly peaceful nap on the half-broken couch in the livingroom by an incessant screeching honk and the revving of an engine from outside.

"Shit!" I cursed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I tripped over myself and a broken chair that had found purchase betwixt my clumsy legs, trying to get to a window and see what in blazes was eating gasoline in my yard and, more importantly, where the fire was that sparked the dire hurry and sonaural chaos assaulting my ears. I pulled back a wilty looking window-shade blearily and peered through the blinds, a moment of realization hitting me before I could start screaming profanities and marching out to bloody the kitchenware that I'd somehow acquired on my way to the curtains. The thought reminded me that my mother was rubbing off on me, and I shook my head, leaving before that particular problem could present itself again; the bludgeoning banshee in a can that liked to think of herself as a parent, that is.

I was out the front door in an instant after tossing down the kitchen knife I'd previously been clutching on to and momentarily hoping that I would get lucky and Mother would trip and lose a toe on it. I regretted this action as soon as I realized that it was raining. The waiting bee-striped bomb of a sports car that I promptly clambered into afterward - on top of someone, unfortunately - wasn't much more inviting than the weather, I found, as a cry of, "What's the deal, Pinky? Can't go half an hour without pulling another home run?" sounded off. I shifted uncomfortably in Kin's lap, unsuccessfully attempting to right myself in a way that didn't involve the better half of my body leaning on hers. Unsurprisingly, Temari was at the wheel and smirking amusedly at our predicament; it became apparent that Kin was joking after a few seconds, and my anxiety seemed to quieten down slightly. It wasn't like either of us would have been uncomfortable sitting two to a seat; the passenger's side would have had quite extravagant leg room for an average person had it not been adjusted forward. Nevertheless, I looked to the space that appeared to be the back of the cab, hoping for a spare seat to crawl into, only to find a heap of clothing and discarded trash mixed in with some other unmentionables.

Temari must have caught my bewildered glances between her and the dump that was behind her because she just laughed. "What?" she said, "You expected reservations? Sorry, had to pick Kin up on the way; time to fly coach, sweets." A lopsided grin grew playfully above her chin, and the befuddled, alien appearance I felt to be projecting had to have been obvious on my cheeks. Her toothy visage faded into a smug smile as the lights in the car dimmed out, and she shifted the vehicle into reverse. "Not to worry, Sakura, just lean back, pop your harness on, and hold tight; Kin'll take care of ya until we get to wherever we're supposed t'be goin'."

_'Wherever we're supposed to be going?' That's reassuring._ I felt my heart quicken as something slipped over my head and past my chest. Harness was right. Two straps came down over my shoulders, and I felt a belt buckle snake its way around my waist, another coming up between my thighs and fastening everything together. Kin laughed at my reaction, which had been an unfortunate, excessively feminine gasp at the latter.

"Nervous?" Kin murmured past my ear, just loud enough to hear and barely loud enough to understand. Temari's brand of music didn't permit much beyond screaming to get a point across. The interior of the car rattled lightly with the noise, and I sincerely wanted to open a window to relieve the pressure on my eardrums, watching as Kin directed Temari toward our destination with gestures and loud calls.

With a trademark smirk of my own, I stamped Kin's foot half-heartedly and barked back. "Don't fuck with me, little lady. I'm here on business," I warned, laughing somewhat coyly. There really was no malice behind it, not that Temari would hear it if there was any.

The response was a retaliatory slap on the shoulder, which did hurt quite a bit, and a sarcastic, "I'm sure," for which I had no reply. The rest of the ride was similarly uncomfortable, punctuated with sarcastic remarks and similar little pains.

* * *

"So, Sakura," Temari began boldly as we sat across from each other and leaned on a rickety, wobbling table. Kin's drink sat idly on the blonde's right, waiting to be tended as it sloshed around accordingly; its owner had excused herself conspicuously to the restroom and conveniently brought another familiar looking brunette with her; I wasn't complaining. I turned my attention back to the blonde in front of me as she continued in that savory tone of hers, "I heard that you and that Barbie doll were on the outs again; seems you're quite the player, Pinky." She took a slurp of the odd, alcoholic mixture of aromatic liquid swirling around in her glass and gave what I assumed to be her best flirtatious little tomboy eye at me. "Any truth to that?" she inquired.

I laughed and debated whether to be truthful or not. "Hah, I dunno about being a 'player,' Temari, but yeah, I'd say that's accurate." The girl seemed to give a light nod, and as hard as she tried to look disinterested, was outed by her dark teal eyes. Over the course of the ten minutes of me having properly acquainted myself her and all ten of which being consumed with waiting for Kin to stumble back from the restroom saturated with hickeys, I'd come to the conclusion that brash, tough-skinned Temari was an interesting character. She'd said that she came from Suna, something that dully sent a chime tinkling in the back of my mind; though, I didn't quite remember for what when we were introduced. Of course, I hadn't needed the our overly friendly, touchy-feely pleasantry exchange once we were sufficiently alone to figure that out, not with the purple cloth bracelet on her arm bearing a white-lined jar symbol and an obnoxious "Suna Village Outfitters" label.

"Hey, wake up, faun of the dead"-she waved her hand in front of me with a cocky expression-"You're getting all quiet and glassy eyed. Kin said you had something worth talking about. Spill it." Arms crossed over her chest, she quirked a brow and brushed off the little waitress that came around to garner a little more of our money.

I sighed and rolled my eyes as Temari retreated back into her seat in anticipation of the next go-round. If the object of this game was persuasion, she knew that she'd won. "Gee, as if my yelling over the music must not have clued you and the whole neighborhood in. You're lucky that Ms. Bratz doll is too busy taking a pee break with Tenten right now to support my argument," I commented dryly. The waitress finally took a hint and moved away from our table, going to the next for a successful hit.

Temari blew a puff of smoke past her lips and smirked. "Shut up, Saku; get to the point if you don't want Giggles and Tits in on this too." She tipped her head to the restroom, and I assumed she was talking about Kin more so than the other girl; Kin wasunreasonably drunk, as was Tenten from what I'd heard. Unsurprisingly, Temari wasn't. By now, the latter was on her third serving of sake since we'd arrived, and we hadn't been here for more than a half hour, if even that much. Her coherency didn't surprise me.

"Do I smell a threat?" I teased. The coy smile, cocked head, and half-lidded eyes promising malintent I got in return for that gesture warned me not to push it; I laughed a bit nervously. I'd already gathered that Temari wasn't the sort to be taken lightly, drunk or no. "Just wondering if someone put you up to this; guess not." Wild lights danced around behind her, an odd few of them framing her profile against the wall. Looking at the brief silhouettes, I thought to myself how ridiculous her pom-pom hairdo must have been to work with in the morning.

"Put me up to what?" Temari laughed, folding her fingers over the handle of her barbaric, cracked glass mug. She'd noticed my scrutiny of her odd hairstyle and seemed amused.

"That's what I'd like to figure out," I answered confidently, sipping my juice, which both Temari and Kin had profusely disapproved of me drinking. They'd ordered several extra drinks earlier on my behalf. "So, spill it."

"I will if you play along with our little drinking game, Sakura."

With some trepidation, I agreed, nodding. "Fine."

There was that smirk again. Temari leered at me from her vantage point confidently. "Well then, if you must know," she began, "Kin and I came up with the idea to take you out for some fun after that blonde haired gangster wannabe's party flopped and you started flinging herself all over anyone and everyone who hadn't already left; excluding Ino, that is. She'd already popped your ass."-a laugh-"It seemed like a fun idea at the time, and with the way Ino was looking at you and that shy girl you were trying to dance with, someone had do something. That's where Kin came in." Temari paused, waiting for a comment before continuing, "I wasn't expecting the girl to go home with you, but running you both to your house was better than watching Naruto make out with his girlfriend..."

"And?"

"That's it; I spilled, Princess. Take a drink."

_Princess?_ Oh, it was so on. I grabbed a bottle from the table and tossed the contents at the back of my throat.

Triumphantly, I declared, "Beat that, Temari."

"Gladly." And so it began.

* * *

Some time after I had imbibed a non-specific quantity of drinks, I somehow arrived before a half-dressed Kin in the restroom, which was delightfully vacant of Tenten. The twin bun-sporting girl had gone off for more drinks and stumbled upon Temari in the process; that much I remembered. I found it funny that the volleyball team captain Kin had been gossiping about not more than twenty-four hours prior managed to entertain herself with two of her worst enemies. This elicited a laugh from me, which alerted Kin to my presence.

"What's up, Pinky?"

_**What's with all the nicknames?**_

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to pick me up, instead of meeting at 'your place?'" I asked, slightly annoyed. Kin stared at me as I leaned against the side-wall of a bathroom stall.

She laughed humorlessly, "Sakura, I live one house over from you. I figured it wasn't that much of a big deal."

That was new to me. It showed. Kin was looking at me like I'd grown antlers out of my ears, screwing up her face this way and that.

"You mean you don't remember?" Her eyes narrowed at me; I was barely able to understand with the slurring, but my own addled brain's stuttering gait was able to eek the words out into what felt like conversation. "Unbelievable."

I raised an eyebrow from where I stood. "What?" I wondered how she could expect me to know where she lived after a cumulative three instances of us interacting, one of those being a brief fight, one of which I didn't quite recall, and another playing out before my eyes. "What do you mean, 'you don't remember?'" I inquired, watching as she dragged herself from a dirty marble counter to her feet, and her eyes swam a bit before locking onto me.

"Sakura, you'd figure that you'd at least glance at a girl when you're running past her to another girl's house on a nightly basis." She laughed before stumbling a bit and leaning back against the counter.

Then, I remembered why it was that I was here; Temari had insisted on another drinking game after subsequently beating me at my own. I groaned, irritated; if I were in my right mind, I would have most likely thrown a tantrum, but something inside of me screamed to chalk my irritability up to the alcohol and fettered judgment. "Uh," I mumbled stupidly, "Well, yeah.. I should really be going."

Kin spat out some witty retort, but I was too absorbed in my own stupor to catch it. Now she stared at me as if I were some sort of mentally impaired elephant in the restroom, which I was, metaphorically speaking. It occurred to me that she must have asked a question.

After no reply from me, Kin finally ordered, "Let's just go back to the damn table, Pinky. We can talk later," and ushered me out.

Great. I got what I came for, for once in my life.

* * *

I found myself hungry some time after waking again from the fruits my momentary unintelligent stupor. I realized that I'd been staring at my half-unhinged plank of a door for over an hour as if I'd expected someone to give half a rat's ass and come looking for me. _That's an intelligent way to spend your time isn't it, Sakura?_

Temari and Kin had to have been gone by now, having taken me home. It was Temari, not Kin, who had shouldered my weight up the stairs leading to the front door and flopped my drunken husk into bed after I'd thrown up in the sink. Kin had only been sober enough to find her way to the couch and settle down for a while. I'd been lying here since then, adhering to Temari's words: "Don't move until you're sober, and don't call anyone either."

What was it that I was supposed to do? Oh, that's right. That little suggestion that Kin so politely supplied me had resulted in an obligation, and I'd had a date earlier. That was partly why my head felt like it'd been walloped with a nine pound hammer. It would have helped my exhaustion at this point if I wasn't still reeling from Mother's idea of a proper greeting. Grudgingly, I slipped from the rumpled mass of mattress and blankets that I'd been complacent to waste away the better two thirds of my life frequenting and stood on my wobbling legs. Briefly, I pondered how I managed to get myself in these situations. Perhaps, I was just a hapless, hopeless, gullible idiot, I mused.

_No,_ I shook my head, _That sounds more like Naruto, or Lee, or perhaps Hinata - minus the 'idiot,' on her part, at least._ With a sigh, I thought of the timid girl. It'd been a while since we talked. I wondered how she was doing, or if she was angry with me for being so inconsiderate with her. I'd left her alone in my house with nothing but a note telling her that there was food in the cabinets if she so chose to fix any while I went off on my merry, two-timing way, almost like a little 'fuck you' to rub her nose in it. Then I thought of Ino, who apparently was just too good for me. Vaguely, I felt like I needed another drink, as if I hadn't absorbed enough of those already.

_**Not smart,**_ Kariyo, my inner, reminded, apparently deciding it a ripe time to keep to her old tricks and remain out of sight. She was right, considering the ill effects the last few times I'd let myself dip into the bottle with Ino, or anyone else for that matter. Of course, if I wasn't sober or remotely sane, she'd probably would have shown herself for the simple purpose of taunting me. I looked into the mirror with a grave exhale.

"Gee, Sakura, by that pasty white you're sporting, it figures you'd agree to a date that didn't entail day-walking or, heaven forbid, sunlight." My hair was still a wet pink from hours earlier, and I wondered how it had managed not to dry as it dangled by my cheeks in flattened curls. I barely remembered anything from the previous night other than the fact that I hadn't really gotten anything productive done. Temari, as I'd expected, was no fool. She hadn't let me shirk my responsibilities in our stupid little drinking games, a fact that Kin wouldn't let go after our classy little bathroom chat. I was sure by now that both of them had suspected I was a lightweight, although an impressively solid one, and planned all of this down to the letter. To make matters more depressing, I was still in the same boat, floating between an Ino that didn't want me and a Hinata that I felt ashamed to be using, and if I thought about it hard enough, a Kin and a Temari too. "Damned temptresses," I muttered unappreciatively, "and I still have to clean up that mess Kin made this morning. Great."

_**Yes, great,**_ Kariyo agreed with me,_** and don't forget about that vomit in the kitchen sink either; you're going to have to wash that down somehow, sweetie.**_

I groaned, full-knowing that the next few hours were going to be heinously arduous.

* * *

To be continued...

A/N: So, not too much happened in this chapter other than some minor character development. Don't worry; for those of you that want me to get back to Ino and Hinata, there will be more of them to come soon, and for those that like Kin and Temari, they'll be sticking around, coupled with some cameos from other characters, including Tenten, who you all will meet some time later (no spoilers for you here, unfortunately). As far as revamping chapters goes, I've finished half of chapter one, improving it by a large margin so that its narrative style resembles these later chapters. I know, I'm behind as usual. Anyway, I'll start updating the chapters when I reach a point in the story that won't make it seem stagnant; new scenes may be added when I do so, so you may want to read up on them later. I'll notify you all in my A/N's, of course, so no need to check back constantly for updates.

Until the next update, ciao!


End file.
